Cyniclon Saga: Sphere of Memories
by Starfire Eld
Summary: Kish: he's Ichigo's nightmare, her worst enemy. Ever since becoming a Mew Mew, the alien has haunted her steps. But is that the real story? What if Kish has a different past: one that even he can't recall? Magic and Memories: That is the Cyniclon Saga. (This story has been discontinued on FanFiction. Please find it on Quizilla if you want to read all of it)
1. Prologue

**A note about the names: **In Cyniclon Saga, the first half of the story focuses on my version of the aliens' past. I am calling them Dren, Tarb and Sardon. Don't hate me, don't flame me and don't avoid the story just because of the names. Let me explain. See I started this story a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away) when I only knew about Mew Mew Power. When I discovered Tokyo Mew Mew and realized how much cooler it was, I went back to this story, took down all the chapters I had published online and changed the names. All of the mews have their Japanese names now, I promise you. But when I came to Dren and the others...I couldn't do it. It was like I had changed their personalities just so that the names were engrained in them. I couldn't get rid of them no matter how much I tried. Every other fanfiction I have written has ALL of the Japanese names. For some reason though, these three characters couldn't be changed. I apologize if this is going to make you hate the story, but Dren, Tarb and Sardon refuse to let me change their names. I hope you enjoy the story anyway.

He was dreaming again.

_Where am I?_

Everything was pitch-black, making it impossible to see. A tiny dot of light appeared in the distance. As the spot grew, he could see a figure standing in the light. The figure was tall and wearing what seemed to be a long blue cloak. His—or her—hair was so long that it brushed the ground and such a deep black that it rivaled the darkness around it.

Do I…know you?

The figure remained silent. He felt like he was screaming through the darkness.

Why won't you answer?

There was a flash of blue, silver, purple and green light, as though about to hit the figure.

Wait!

The light vanished instantly, replaced by the flash of the figure's bright red eyes.

The red light winked out and he searched frantically through the darkness. No prick of light appeared. Another figure—or was it merely an image—moved toward him.

She was on her knees, gloved hands hanging uselessly in front of her. Light that he could not see created shadows across her pink dress. His gaze found her face. The black cat ears that poked from her light pink hair drooped and crystalline tears ran down her face.

Who are you?

She continued to cry, as though she couldn't hear him.

_Why are you crying?_

His eyes moved to the figure on the ground in front of her. Why wouldn't his eyes focus?

Is it…

The picture began to clear…

…_Because…_

Suddenly the picture threw itself into focus revealing a boy with dark green hair and big ears.

…_Of me?_

Dren snapped awake and jerked up in bed. Still panting, he stared into the night sky out his window. Cold sweat covered his face and he wiped at it with a sleeve.

"That dream again…" he murmured.


	2. Chapter 1: A Strange Start

"Hey Dren! You awake yet?"

Dren groaned. He stuck his head under his pillow to block out the voice.

"Dren!"

Dren burrowed deeper under the covers.

"Come on Dren! Rise and shine, shortcake!"

Dren shot out of bed, darted to the window and hurled a book out at the figure below. The figure fell back and landed hard on the ground.

"Ow!"

"Bryn, stop giving me stupid nicknames!" Dren shouted out the window.

The brown haired Cyniclon sat up and gave Dren an impish grin, green eyes twinkling.

"Sure woke you up quick though!" he said. "Hurry up, everybody's waiting at the cross road."

Dren blinked.

"Why?"

Bryn rolled his eyes and stood up.

"First day as a second year, sunshine! I thought you were the studious one."

"Great Blue, I totally forgot!"

Dren zipped from the window and struggled into his uniform. He hurtled down the stairs and grabbed his bag.

"Dren? Aren't you going to eat your breakfast?"

His mom was standing in the doorway. She flicked a strand of brown hair from her face.

"Sorry mom, I'm already late," Dren said.

His mom sighed.

"Okay, but stick to the main road—"

"Yeah, yeah, and stay out of the woods," said Dren. "Bye!"

Dren jogged over to where Bryn was waiting.

"Well come on, Drenny-Dren!" said Bryn.

Dren hit Bryn hard on the head.

"Ow!"

"Stop with the stupid nicknames," Dren said.

"Okay, okay."

Dren picked up the book he had thrown at Bryn. A piece of paper fell from it. Bryn grabbed it before it hit the ground and glanced at it.

"Hey, did you draw this?" he asked.

Dren blinked and took the drawing from him. It showed the girl from his dream in black and white, still kneeling and crying.

"Oh, yeah," said Dren.

"That's the girl you told me about right?" said Bryn. "The one in your dream."

Dren nodded.

"Seriously, you should go see that one fortuneteller about that," Bryn said. "Maybe it will give you better insight."

"I don't really think so," said Dren.

He took the picture and slid it back into the book. Then he stuffed the book in his bag.

"Okay, let's go," said Dren.

They ran down the road. They had just turned the corner—

"WATCH OUT!"

Dren skidded to a stop just as a black Dragon Pegasus shot from the bushes, a tiny rider clinging to its back.

"Whoa girl! Come on! Stop! AUGH!"

The small rider flew from the winged horse's back. The Pegasus darted back into the woods. Dren walked over to the figure on the ground.

"You okay?"

"Ow," said Tarb.

"That counts as okay!" said a cheery voice.

A girl nearly exactly like Tarb with slightly longer hair bounced from the bushes.

"He still has feeling in his butt!" she announced.

"Thanks for your words of sympathy," Tarb groaned, standing up carefully.

"Wow, Dragon Pegasii?" said Bryn. "I thought you were working on riding wyverns!"

"He was," said Tanya. "But he's finished that project."

Dren and Bryn stared at Tarb. He shrugged.

"Wyverns are pretty easy with the right amount of food incentives," said Tarb. "Anyways, I'll get it next time!"

"Right, twenty-eighth time lucky, right 'lil bro?" said Tanya.

"For the last time Tanya," said Tarb. "You are NOT older than me!"

Tanya grinned.

"Only stating the facts," she said. "I _was _born first."

"By twenty seconds!"

Bryn laughed and Dren smiled in spite of himself.

"Well come on you two," said Bryn. "We've got to meet with the others."

"K," said Tanya.

The four jogged through the city gates and they finally made it to the crossroad.

"Morning Dren!" said a girl with long purple hair in two low pigtails. "You finally made it!"

"I got him awake eventually," said Bryn.

Dren rolled his eyes.

"Morning Kendra," he said. "Hi Mairead."

A girl with wavy red hair looked down quickly, flushing.

"Oh, hi!" she said.

Dren blinked.

"Mairead, are you okay?" he asked.

"She's fine," said Kendra, giving Dren a look that he didn't entirely understand.

The group made their way down the street towards the school building.

"Finally, we won't be lowly first-years!" said Bryn. "There will be new first years to look down upon!"

"Bryn, I don't think that's the point of getting a year older," said Dren.

"It isn't," said Kendra, rolling her eyes. "Besides Bryn, isn't your little brother going to be in school with you now?"

"Alas, I have no younger brother!" said Bryn dramatically.

"Sure, sure," said Kendra, nudging him so that he nearly fell over. "There's no denying that you're related."

Bryn sighed dramatically.

"I can hide nothing from you, my sweet rose," he said.

Kendra hit him hard on the head.

"No nicknames," she said.

"Ow," he said. "Do I have a bump on my head yet?"

"Not yet," said Tanya cheerily. "Well, this is where me and Tarb turn."

"See you guys after school," said Dren.

"Uh, actually I won't be able to meet you after school," said Tarb.

"Why not?" said Bryn. "We were all going downtown."

"Well, I, uh, I'm busy," said Tarb. "Come on Tanya."

The two ran down the street.

"What do you think that was about?" asked Kendra.

"Who knows?" said Dren.

He narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Tarb doesn't usually keep secrets, even about his 'projects,'" he said. "I don't know what he's up to."

"Well, let's not tarry," said Bryn. "Onward into the unknown wilderness otherwise known as high school!"

"Bryn, you seriously need to join drama club," said Kendra.

"Ah, but my talents are far too great for the mere usage of drama!"

"Drama is all you use it for," said Dren.

He glanced over at Mairead, who was being extremely quiet.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Mairead jumped and let out a muffled 'eep!'

"Fine!" she said, flushing beet red.

"Um, okay," said Dren.

Mairead hadn't been like this last year. They'd been best friends since childhood—right?

They stepped through the doors into the school. The hallway was total chaos—students were everywhere, screaming, yelling, chatting, and pretty much any other form of speech. A bunch of fifth years hung out in the back, not saying much. A few new first years nervously glanced at the tall sixth year group that was chatting loudly. The second years were all smiling brightly and sent a few glances at the first years—some mischievous and others comforting.

"Bryn! My brother of brother-ness!"

Dren glanced over the heads of the first years. A tall and gangly first year jumped from the crowd. He looked almost exactly like Bryn, though his eyes were a lighter green. He jumped forward and gave Kendra a hug.

"It has been too long—"

A huge fan hit the boy on the head and he spun in a dizzy circle. A girl with small pointed ears and auburn hair stood with her arms crossed. She was an elf.

"Cheating on me again?" she said.

"Of course not, my dear Kokoro!" he said. "You are the most beautiful thing in the entire universe—"

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it a million times," she said.

She flicked her bangs from her face.

"I can already see the resemblance," said Dren.

"Everyone can," said the girl. "Except Bryn refuses to join drama club and Rikuto's entire life _is_ drama club."

"No!" said Rikuto. "You are my life, my darling Kokoro, as sweet as a rose on a warm summer day—"

Kokoro hit Rikuto on the head with the fan again.

"I swear, I'm going to give you a serious concussion one of these days," she said.

She turned to Bryn.

"So you going to introduce me, or should I do it myself?"

"Kokoro, this is Kendra, Dren and Mairead," said Bryn, flashing a grin. "This is Kokoro. My brother's girlfriend."

"More like his girl-fiend," she Kokoro, rolling her eyes. "He can be such an idiot sometimes."

"What classes are you taking your first year?" Dren asked Kokoro.

"Oh, just usual stuff, plus art and dimensional studies," said Kokoro. "And the idiot is taking drama, drama, and drama."

"You wound me," said Rikuto. "I am also taking dimensional studies!"

"Only because I'm in it," said Kokoro. "And I bet you'll be asking me for ALL of my notes!"

Dren tuned out their argument.

"Hey Kendra, are you taking any new classes?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I thought I'd try drama and dimensional studies."

She jerked a thumb at Mairead.

"And since she's too shy to tell you, I'LL tell you that she's taking dimensional studies, Music and she's trying out for the choir."

"The choir?" said Dren.

Mairead stared at her feet and nodded.

"That's great," Dren said. "I remember you sounded really good at the concerts in elementary school."

Mairead flushed even redder than before and mumbled what sounded like 'thank you.' Dren wasn't exactly sure why. What had happened? It felt like just last week she had been talking to him fine.

"What about you, Dren?" asked Bryn.

"Well, uh," Dren faltered.

Bryn snatched Dren's schedule from him and studied it. He let out a low whistle.

"Great Blue, you're taking all of the available classes?"

"Let me see," said Kendra. "Whoa! Overachiever alert!"

"I'll have that back," said Dren testily, jerking his schedule from her hands.

"And you're trying out for the band!" said Bryn. "Looks like we won't be seeing much of you this year!"

"You're forgetting how fast he always did his homework last year," said Kendra, grinning. "Going to graduate early?"

"Come on, it's not that big of a deal," Dren muttered. "My first class is history, what about you?"

"I've got history, too," said Kokoro.

"Alas, my first class is algebra!" said Rikuto. "I shall not be able to protect you from the slings of the older students—"

Kokoro hit Rikuto on the head with the fan.

"I think she can take care of herself," said Dren, hiding a laugh.

"Well, Mairead's first class is history," said Kendra. "Go on."

Kendra nudged Mairead forward.

"Me and Bryn have science," said Kendra. "You go up ahead."

"I'll come along," said Kokoro.

She lowered her voice.

"Actually it's to get away from the idiot."

"If you really hate him, why do you go out with him?" asked Dren.

"I don't _hate_ him," said Kokoro. "Actually, arguing with him is the fun part. If we stopped arguing, I'd be nervous."

Dren laughed. Suddenly he thought he heard someone talking angrily behind him. He turned around and saw a young first year with long black hair.

"I'm perfectly capable of walking myself down a hallway," she snapped.

Dren blinked. The person standing next to her must be her father, but the weird thing was that Dren knew him. It was one of his mom's friends, Sardon.

"You don't have to walk with me to a classroom!" she said angrily.

She stormed down the hallway, passing right by Dren. She stopped just before she passed him completely and turned to look at him. Dren blinked.

"What are you looking at?" she said.

Then she stalked into the classroom.

"Orla—" Sardon started, too late.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, then turned and walked outside.

"Well, that was interesting," said Dren, staring after Orla.

"So that's her," said Kokoro thoughtfully.

"That's who?" asked Dren, turning to her.

Rikuto appeared from nowhere.

"That's the girl that we heard about before we came," he said. "She used to go to a private school."

"So?"

"The thing is," said Kokoro. "She's really odd."

"Odd?" said Dren.

"Yeah," said Rikuto. "There've been rumors that she isn't a Cyniclon."

"What else could she be?" said Dren.

Rikuto glanced around at the busy hall. No one was paying any attention to him. Rikuto turned back to Dren and lowered his voice.

"Well," he muttered. "You didn't hear it from me, but they're saying that she's Azulda reincarnated."

Dren narrowed his eyes. He had never heard the name, yet it seemed familiar to him…

"Azulda…"

The name sent chills down his spine.

Starfireelf15's commentary: well, I thought that was a good start. How about you? Or are the readers just all sitting there in stunned silence after finding out that Dren is a nerd? I thought so. Well, don't forget to read the next chapter: Flash Across the Sky.


	3. Chapter 2: Flash Across the Sky

Recap: Last time, Dren had just started his second year of high school. He met with a first year girl named Orla, who happens to be Sardon's daughter and is rumored to be the reincarnation of Azulda. But just who is Azulda? And what's Orla's problem?

Dren slipped into the history classroom, Mairead beside him.

"So how did your last voice lesson go?" he asked.

"Fine," said Mairead.

She sat down and stared at her desk.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Dren. "You look like you have a fever."

Mairead blinked and looked up at him.

"Really?" she said.

"Yeah," said Dren.

"I think I'm okay," said Mairead, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"You only think?" said Dren, smiling.

Then he frowned.

"Did I do something to upset you or something?" he asked. "You're really quiet today."

"Oh, of course not!" said Mairead. "I guess—maybe I'm just nervous about the first day of second year."

Dren was going to say something else, but just then the door opened and the teacher walked in. Dren stared at her. Had this teacher been here last year?

She wasn't Cyniclon; that was for sure. And she definitely wasn't an elf or a mortal spirit. Her eyes were round orbs of green with no white and slitted pupils. Her nose was tiny and twitched like a cat. Two huge yellow ears poked from her short blond hair. Her hands were paw-like and covered in short yellow and orange striped fur. A yellow cat's tail flicked behind her. She moved with a cat-like grace to the front desk and surveyed the class.

Everyone fell silent the instant her green eyes swept the class.

"Now," she said.

There was a fluid sound to her voice, like water being poured into a cup.

"I am Sensei Meav," she said, still staring unblinkingly into the crowd.

She picked up a piece of paper on the desk, tiny claws glittering on the tips of her fingers.

"When I call your name, please raise your hand so that I know you're here."

"Amber, Yuki," she said.

A sylph in the front raised his hand.

"Ceunon, Hanon."

A water spirit raised her hand timidly.

A few other names were called.

"Fallinor, Dren."

Dren raised his hand. Meav's eyes rested on Dren for a minute longer than it had on the others. Dren got a strange feeling that she knew him…

"Strange teacher," said Dren out loud. "Was she a neko?"

"I thought so," said Mairead. "She looked at you longer than anyone else."

Dren started and turned to look at Mairead. She had noticed too?

"I noticed," she admitted. "To be honest, she kind of scares me."

"Maybe she's a stalker," said Kokoro.

"Oh, come off it," said Dren.

However, he was starting to feel uneasy.

"Well, I have dimension studies," said Kokoro. "See you later Dren, Mairead."

"See you," said Dren.

Dren swallowed. What if Kokoro was right and Meav was some kind of stalker? That look had felt intimidating. Did she actually know him? Or was something else going on? Suddenly a girl brushed past him.

"Oh, sorry," he said.

"No, it was my fault," she said.

Dren blinked. Was this girl seriously a high schooler?

She was tall, that was for sure and had that athletic grace of an elf. Her gold hair fell down her shoulders and eyes were a bright blue. Yet her face seemed too youthful, as though she was only twelve or thirteen.

"Oh," she said. "Have we met before?'

Dren got the feeling that she knew who he was for some reason and was only asking to feign ignorance.

"Ah, no, I don't think so," said Dren. "I'm Dren."

The girl nodded, as though she had expected that.

"I am Leoti," she said. "This is my first year at high school."

For some reason, that sounded like a lie too.

"Dren? What's taking so long?" asked Mairead.

She peeked over her shoulder and her expression became unreadable.

"Oh."

"Hello," said Leoti airily. "I know who you are, I saw you at last year's singing contest. You're Mairead."

"Yeah," said Mairead. "Who are you?"

"My name is Leoti."

Dren felt extremely uncomfortable around Leoti, kind of the same feeling he got around Meav. Geez, how many stalkers did he have?

"Well, uh, it was nice meeting you Leoti," said Dren. "Mairead, let's go, we'll be late for class."

They both hurried down the hall.

"Geez, this the second time today someone's given me a weird feeling," said Dren.

"A weird feeling?" asked Mairead.

"Yeah, you know, like Meav gave me a weird feeling," said Dren. "I kind of hope I don't run into her again; I could swear that she knew me but was pretending not to."

For some strange reason Mairead seemed to brighten at those comments.

"Good luck," Dren whispered.

Mairead smiled nervously at him and walked onto the stage. Dren watched her from the wings, taking glances at the three judges for the auditions. The music started and Dren held his breath. Mairead began to sing.

"_Days of burning sun_

_Watch the_

_Colors run._

_Into pools which catch the eye._

_Disappear as you pass by!_

_You're my summer rain!_

_You're my summer rain!_

_And I know_

_That I'll see you again_

_And I know_

_That I'll see you again."_

Dren bit his tongue as one of the judges signaled for her to stop. She had barely started! The three whispered with each other for a few minutes, then motioned to Mairead that she was dismissed.

Mairead walked quickly back stage.

"I didn't even get halfway through!" she said. "What if that means I'm horrible?"

"You're not horrible," said Dren firmly. "You sounded amazing to me."

Mairead flushed and smiled.

"Thanks," she said.

"So when will you know if you've been chosen?" he asked.

"Tomorrow," said Mairead. "Do mind if I hang around until your audition?"

"I don't mind," said Dren. "In fact, it's better if you're here."

Mairead blushed slightly.

Dren waited for what felt like hours until it was finally time for band auditions. He swallowed and took out his flute. (Yes, Dren plays the flute. I don't want to hear any comments about it!)

He walked out onto the stage. It was extremely nerve-wracking staring out at the empty auditorium and the three impassive judges. He swallowed again and prepared to play. Without entirely realizing it, he played the song. He felt like he wasn't in the auditorium anymore. He was back at home with his mom and dad and his mom was trying to teach him how to play.

"_See, you hold it like this," his mom said. "Then you have to move certain fingers to make different sounds. Try this one."_

_His mother played one crystalline note._

"_Now you try."_

_Dren put the flute to his lips and tried to copy his mom's fingers. The sound felt off._

"_Keep trying," his mom encouraged._

_Finally a shaky but clear note came from Dren's flute._

"_You've got it!" his mom said._

_His dad ruffled his hair._

"_I still don't understand wind instruments," he said._

"_That's because you waste your time with stringed ones," Dren's mom said playfully._

Dren finished playing. He waited as the judges whispered, then motioned that he was done. He walked backstage quickly.

"Well?" he asked Mairead.

"It was amazing," she said, beaming.

Dren grinned.

"Well that's a load off my chest," he said, putting the flute away. "Mairead, I need to stop by the school library for a few minutes. Did you want to come?"

"Sure," said Mairead.

The pair walked down to the school library.

"Are you sure its still open?" Mairead asked.

"They kept it open after school last year," said Dren, pushing the door open.

The library was silent. Dren held the door open for Mairead to slip through, then let it close gently. Even the muffled thud of the closing door seemed loud. The air felt dusty and very few rays of sunlight peeped through the windows.

"Weird," said Dren. "It feels like no one's been in here for months, but the summer school uses it during the summer."

"Yeah," said Mairead. "Do you get the feeling we shouldn't be here?"

"This will only take a minute," said Dren.

He walked into an aisle, Mairead following close behind.

"Let's see, A, A, where is A… Okay, AI, AL, AW, here, AZ."

Dren pulled a heavy book from the shelf.

"What exactly are you looking up, Dren?" asked Mairead, following him over to a table.

"Rikuto said something about Azulda today," said Dren, flipping open the book. "I thought I'd heard the name before but I couldn't remember where."

He leafed through the book and landed on a middle page. The top read The Old Gods.

"We never learned about that in school," said Mairead, leaning over.

"This book seems really old," said Dren. "To tell the truth I don't think I seen anything like it before."

He scanned the page and found Azulda.

" 'An old goddess worshiped during the Old Earth Period,'" he read. " 'Thought by the ancients to be a cruel goddess who rampaged the world unless appeased with blood sacrifice.' Well that's cheerful, huh, Mairead?"

There was no answer. Dren turned to look up at Mairead. She seemed suddenly fragile and pale.

"Mairead?"

Dren followed her gaze to a picture on the opposite side of the page he was reading. There were two Cyniclon-like figures, both wearing long dark blue garments and both with long black hair. However, the one on the left appeared to be male with icy blue eyes and the one on the right was female with fiery red eyes. Dren swallowed. The female seemed too close to his dream for comfort…

Mairead made a strange noise beside him, half sounding like she was choking and half sounding like she was trying to speak in another language. Dren whipped around to look at her. She was white as a sheet and her pupils had shrunk.

"Mairead!"

Dren jumped to his feet and grabbed Mairead's shoulders.

"Mairead! Mairead! Mairead say something!"

She continued to make that noise, still staring at the page as though she wasn't really seeing it. Dren shook her, trying to make her look at him.

"Mairead!"

Mairead's eyes rolled up and she fell from the chair in a dead faint.

"Mairead!"

Dren knocked the chair out of the way and knelt next to her, still shaking her.

"Wake up! Mairead!"

"Get back! Move out of the way boy!"

Dren jerked around. Meav shoved him out of the way and put a furred hand on Mairead's chest, rising and falling with the ragged breaths. Meav murmured something under her breath. Dren watched, hardly able to breathe. Finally, Meav stopped muttering and took her hand away from Mairead. Mairead's breaths slowed and became normal again. Her eyes fluttered open.

"What—what just happened?" she asked groggily.

"That's what I'd like to know," said Meav, flicking her cat-like eyes to Dren.

Dren swallowed. Meav really gave him a weird feeling.

"I was looking something up and then Mairead started staring at the one picture and she started making this weird noise," he said. "Then she fainted."

"Let me see this book," said Meav.

Dren slid the book from the table and handed it to Meav. She studied the page for a moment, then looked back at Dren. Her look was measuring, sending chills down Dren's back.

"Now why were you looking this up?" Meav said softly.

"Someone mentioned Azulda today," said Dren. "I thought I'd heard the name before but I couldn't think of where."

Meav still watched Dren carefully, never blinking. Mairead groaned. Dren snapped his attention away from Meav.

"Excuse me, Meav-sensei, but I really need to get Mairead to the nurse," he said.

Dren hurried over to Mairead and helped her up.

"Can you walk?"

"I think so," said Mairead. "Really I think I'm fine."

She took a few steps and nearly fell over. Dren caught her.

"I don't think you're fine," he said. "I'm taking you to the nurse's office."

"But—"

"No buts. I'll carry you."

Mairead let Dren pick her up and carry her out into the hall. As they got further from the library, Mairead seemed to get slowly better. Dren wondered what was going on. By the time they were halfway to the nurse's office, Mairead seemed to really notice that Dren was carrying her.

"Uh, you can put me down now," she said.

"We're not there yet," said Dren.

"But I feel much better now!" Mairead said. "Really!"

"Let's wait until the nurse decides that for sure."

Mairead flushed and didn't say anything else. They went into the nurse's office and Dren set Mairead down on the bed.

"Excuse me," he said to the nurse at the desk. "My friend fainted, and she still seems a bit pale."

"I'll take a look," the nurse said.

The nurse was a mortal water spirit with blue scaly skin. Fin-like ears stuck from her seaweed green hair. She touched Mairead's forehead gently with webbed hands.

"No fever," she said.

A water-like spark flew from the nurse's fingers and zoomed around Mairead a few times. Then it came back to the water spirit's fingers and vanished.

"You seem fine," she said. "Do you know what made you faint?"

"Probably just nerves," said Mairead.

Dren gave a mental sigh. He hadn't been sure how to explain the book.

"Well be more careful," she said. "And you, take care of her."

This last comment was directed at Dren.

"Don't worry," he said.

Mairead blushed.

"Geez, what took you guys so long?" asked Bryn.

"We had a bit of trouble, but it's all good," said Dren.

Bryn raised an eyebrow, but let it go.

"Well, you ready to go to the boardwalk?" he asked. "You haven't been there yet have you?"

"I don't think so," said Dren. "I thought we were planning on going downtown."

"We were," said Kendra. "Unfortunately several enemies caught wind of that, so we're going to avoid them."

"You have enemies?" said Dren, grinning.

"Yes," said Kendra. "Nasty ones too. But I don't feel like kicking their butts today."

Tanya giggled.

"Hey where is Tarb?" Dren asked Tanya. "He said he wouldn't make it, but what is he doing?"

Tanya giggled again.

"Sorry, I can't tell you," she said. "Tarb swore me to silence."

"Even if Tarb swore you to silence, that doesn't mean you won't tell," said Mairead. "I don't remember the last time you kept a secret."

"Exactly!" said Tanya. "I like to throw people off like that!"

Kendra rolled her eyes, grinning.

"How can you throw anyone off?" she asked. "You're always contrary, no one expects anything different."

"Oh, Kendra-nee-san," said Tanya.

The group walked down to the boardwalk, still chatting and laughing.

"Whoa, the boardwalk is really busy!" said Dren.

"Everything happens here," said Bryn. "So naturally, everyone wants to see it."

"Sometimes you don't make any sense," said Dren.

"Hey look, there's that one fortuneteller's tent!" said Tanya. "We should go there!"

"That sounds cool," said Kendra. "Why don't we all go in at once?"

"But then everyone will hear everybody's else's futures," said Dren.

Kendra winked.

"Exactly," she said. "Dare you."

Dren shrugged.

"Well, it isn't real anyway, so sure."

Mairead nodded.

"Sounds fun," she said.

"Too bad Tarb's not here," said Tanya. "I would have had fun dragging him in here."

"You have a dark mind," said Dren.

Tanya giggled.

The group slipped through the tent flap. Dren instantly felt closed off from the outside world. The inside of this tent felt like another world entirely, shut off from the bustle outside.

"It's dark," Tanya squeaked.

At that moment a light flared at the end of the tent. Dren blinked. He had kind of been expecting the round table with the crystal ball on it and some creepy young woman sitting behind it. That wasn't what was there.

An ancient looking Cyniclon woman sat behind a small square table. A stack of cards sat in front of her.

"Well are you going to stand there staring all day?" she grunted. "Or did you want your fortune told?"

"My apologies," said Bryn.

He walked over to the table. Dren and the others followed.

"How many?" the woman said.

Dren blinked. The woman's eyes looked as though they had been slashed, so that she could no longer see. Dren cringed at the thought of how much pain she must have gone through. Then he wondered how she could read the cards without being able to see.

Bryn took a quick head count.

"Five," he said.

The woman chuckled.

"Five," she murmured. "I thought so."

She began to shuffle the cards.

"Well who's first?" she said.

"I am," said Bryn, sending a wink back at the others. Dren rolled his eyes.

"Then sit down," the woman said.

Bryn sat in the chair in front of the table. The woman finished shuffling the cards and set them in a stack.

"Well, put your hand on it, boy," she said.

Bryn placed his hand on top of the deck.

"Good, good," the woman murmured. "Now take the first card off and give it to me."

Bryn handed her the card. She held onto it for a moment.

"Let me see," she said. "You will need to be firm in your friendships during the next few months. Things will happen that may or may not drive a wedge between you and your relationships."

Bryn glanced back at Dren and raised an eyebrow. Dren bit his tongue. The woman slid the card back into the deck and shuffled it again.

"Who's next?" she grunted.

Kendra took Bryn's place. She also put her hand on the deck and handed the woman the first card.

"Ah, now you," she said. "Your future is in the shadows."

What was that supposed to mean? Did that mean her future was unreadable or something else entirely?

"Protect your mind carefully," the woman continued. "Some may seek to use you against others."

Kendra nodded, then stood up and gave everybody a funny look that seemed to say, "She's crazy, isn't she?"

Tanya went next.

"Now your future is crystal," the woman said. "You must stick to your friends and family no matter what happens."

Bryn nudged him.

"You go next," he hissed.

Dren sat down, more than a little unnerved.

"Well," the woman said irritably. "Put your hand on the deck."

Dren cautiously set his hand down on top of the deck. He just barely stopped the gasp before it was audible to the group behind him. The deck felt like it was holding uncontained power. Energy flooded from him and into the top card. He swallowed and handed the woman the top card. He just barely saw the picture on top before she turned it to face her. It was a long white dragon…

"Ah, yes," she said. "The windy card."

She whispered that so quietly that Dren barely heard her.

"Be strong and flexible, like wind across the plains," she said. "Changes are coming, and coming fast. Watch for the flash of purple lightning in the coming storm. And—"

This next part was so quiet that Dren had to lean forward slightly to hear her.

"Beware of Azulda, young Jun," she hissed.

What?

He stood up and let Mairead take his place. What had that been about? He watched Mairead carefully, wondering if he had been the only one to feel the energy in the cards. He could swear he saw Mairead stiffen when her hand touched the deck.

Mairead handed the woman the card. The woman said nothing for a moment. Then she set the card down, face up. Dren peeked at it. The card showed a shadowed figure with glowing red eyes. He blinked. The woman was murmuring something to Mairead.

"The Shadowed Goddess," the woman hissed. "This means something, oh yes, it means something dark is in your future."

Dren heard Mairead swallow. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Hang on to him," the woman said to Mairead, fierceness in her voice. "Hang on to him with all your might, or he'll be gone."

"Who?" Mairead asked.

Her voice wasn't any louder than a whisper.

"You know who I'm talking about," the woman hissed.

Dren tugged on Mairead's arm.

"Let's go," he whispered.

Mairead stood up in a jerky motion and let Dren pull her outside. Dren felt like it was easier to breathe outside the tent.

"Well," said Bryn. "I wasn't expecting that."

"I don't think anyone was," said Kendra. "It's okay Mairead, it's not real anyway."

Mairead seemed to be having trouble breathing. Kendra gave her a hug.

"It's okay Mairead, nothing bad is going to happen."

Mairead caught Dren's eye over Kendra's shoulder. In that instant, Dren knew that Mairead had also felt the power in the cards—not to mention made the connection between Azulda and The Shadowed Goddess.

Kendra let go of Mairead.

"Hey, who wants something to eat?" she asked. "I'm starved."

"Me too," said Dren. "Let's go."

The group wandered down the boardwalk.

"I'm going to go get ice cream," said Tanya. "I'll meet you guys by the fountain later."

She ran off.

"Why don't we all split up?" said Kendra. "Me and Bryn want to look at that new booth over there."

Kendra and Bryn walked away, leaving Mairead and Dren alone.

"So you want to go get something to eat?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Mairead.

They ordered something (don't ask me what) and walked over to a bench.

"It's been a while since it was just the two of us," said Dren.

For some reason this made Mairead blush.

"Uh, yeah," she said.

They sat in a slightly awkward silence. Dren looked up at the sky to avoid catching Mairead's gaze. The sky was covered in dark gray clouds.

"Huh?"

"What is it Dren?" asked Mairead.

"Wasn't it clear just five minutes ago?" Dren asked, pointing at the sky.

Mairead stared at the sky.

"I thought so," she said. "Looks like a really bad storm."

"Let's go find shelter," said Dren, standing up.

Mairead nodded and stood up as well.

But before they had even taken a step, rain came pouring down in sheets, totally blocking out all vision. Dren couldn't see anymore than three feet ahead of him. Even Mairead was nothing more than a gray shape next to him. Thunder rumbled loudly, making the ground shake beneath him. Lightning flashed across the sky, lightning the boardwalk for a brief second with purple light. Wait a minute, purple light?

"_Watch for the purple lightning in the coming storm…"_

His fortune was coming true.

"Mairead!" he shouted over the rain and thunder. "I saw a tent about ten feet in front of us! Let's move toward it!"

He was pretty sure Mairead nodded, but either way she followed him as he moved cautiously forward. Another purple flash illuminated the sky, showing the tent in front of him. He took another step toward it. Suddenly purple lightning struck the ground right in front of him. He felt the shock go through him, paralyzing him to the wet ground. He could hear people screaming and could smell burned wood. Static crackled in the air around him. The next strike hit him full on. He thought he was screaming, but he couldn't hear over the buzzing of his ears. He fell back and hit his head hard on the ground. Another flash hit him in the chest and pain flooded through him.

Blackness ate away at his vision slowly. As he began to black out, he was aware of a warm white light bursting up around him.

Starfireelf15's commentary: Well that was interesting. Personally, I was on the edge of my seat while I was writing this; I think the details of the lightning strikes made it that much more intense. And Leoti, now there's an interesting character. Doesn't she make you wonder who she is and what she's up to? Oh, and just so you know, the song Mairead was singing is NOT my song. I don't own it at all and I am not trying to steal it. It's called Summer Rain by Hayley Westenra; she's a great artist so you should go listen to some of her songs. Stay tuned for chapter three: Whirlwind.


	4. Chapter 3: Whirlwind

Recap: Last time, Dren met his new history teacher, Meav. Strangely enough she seems to know him. As if that wasn't weird enough, there's a new girl who seems too young to be in high school and also seems to know Dren. Not to mention that Mairead fainted in the library while Dren was looking up Azulda. Afterwards, Dren, Bryn, Kendra, Mairead and Tanya went to the boardwalk where they had their fortunes told by an old woman. Dren and Mairead both seem to have felt some strange power in there and then a huge storm comes from nowhere and Dren is struck by lightning! Purple lightning!

Dren woke up in his bed at home. He tried to sit up—big mistake. The room spun around him and his stomach lurched. Someone pushed him down firmly, cool hands on his forehead.

"Don't even think about getting up," his mother's voice ordered. "You don't just walk away after getting hit by lightning three times in a row."

Dren obediently lay back down.

"Three times?" he choked out.

"Well technically twice, but the another one was really close and shocked you anyway."

"And I'm still alive?"

"Obviously."

Dren closed his eyes. What on earth had happened out there?

"The lightning," he said.

"What about it?" his mother asked.

"It was purple," said Dren. "The old fortuneteller on the boardwalk told me to watch out for purple lightning."

His mother was silent.

"The old fortuneteller?" she said slowly.

"Yeah," Dren murmured.

"Tell me, did she have a long scar across her eyes that made her blind?"

"Yeah."

There was another silence.

"Well," Kelda said. "You rest for a little longer. I'm going to call Mairead; the phone's been ringing off the hook all day because she wanted to check on you."

The thought of Mairead being so worried made Dren feel a little bit better. He heard his mother's footsteps leave the room and he sighed. Nothing left for him to do but sleep. Just as he was about to doze off, he remembered that he had been dreaming right after he fainted. What had it been about?

It came to him instantly. It had been the dream again, the one with the crying girl and the figure in the cloak. But it had been different… hadn't it? Dren tried to remember.

_It was like watching a scene from a movie or a play. He saw a figure with long black hair and icy blue eyes. The girl in pink was stumbling towards the figure, a look on her face like she was confused and dazed. She clutched a ribbon with a little bell on it, tinkling with each step._

"What is her problem?"_ said a voice next to Dren. _"They're fools. Huge fools."

_Dren turned to look next to him. It was Tarb! But what the heck was he wearing? He was wearing some weird tiny red shirt and black shorts. Dren turned back to stare at the girl. She was in front of the figure. She held up the bell, mouth moving. Dren strained to hear the words._

"…My number one treasure…Aoyama-kun…please remember…"

_There was a pause. Then the figure raised a hand and smacked the bell from the girl's hand. She stared at him with shock and hurt, then sank to her knees…_

Dren opened his eyes.

"Dren? Are you awake?"

He turned his head and tried to focus. Mairead was sitting next to the bed.

"Mairead?"

"You are awake," she said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm better now," he said, sitting up. "How long have you been here?"

"About five minutes," she said. "You were mumbling in your sleep."

"I was?"

Mairead nodded.

"What exactly did I say?" he asked.

"That's the thing, I couldn't hear," said Mairead. "I was going to ask you what you were dreaming about."

Dren rubbed the back of his head.

"It was the girl again," he said. "And the figure in the cloak, but this one was different."

"You mean the girl with cat ears?" asked Mairead. "The one you told me about?"

Dren nodded.

"She was talking to the figure, and she looked almost like she had just lost something," he said. "But the figure didn't seem to care about her at all and it shocked her."

Mairead looked up at the ceiling, as though thinking.

"Maybe she's a neko, like Meav-sensei?" she said. "Maybe Meav-sensei even knows who she is."

"Maybe, but I think I'd feel weird asking her about something like that," said Dren.

"You and me both," said Mairead. "She's kind of intimidating."

Dren nodded. Kelda poked her head into the room.

"Oh, you're awake," she said. "You feel good enough to come and eat something?"

Dren's stomach growled loudly. Mairead bit back a giggle and Dren grinned.

"I think so," he said.

"Well then come on," Kelda said. "Mairead, you're welcome to stay for dinner."

"Oh, thanks," said Mairead.

Dren slid out of bed and the pair followed Kelda downstairs.

Bryn strode over to Dren.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked. "I didn't expect you to come to school today."

"I'm fine," said Dren. "I guess it was just a fluke."

"And they say lightning never strikes in the same place twice," said Kendra. "It hit _you_ three times!"

"Really, I feel fine," said Dren.

"Are you sure?" said Bryn. "Absolutely positively sure?"

"Yes," said Dren, grinning. "Anyways, we have six minutes and counting to get to our classrooms so we'd better hurry."

"Right you are," said Kendra. "What do you have right now?"

"Dimensional studies," said Dren.

"You're going to love the teacher," said Kendra. "She's amazing!"

The bell rang loudly, signaling that they five minutes to get into their classrooms.

"Let's go Mairead!" said Dren.

"Right!" said Mairead.

They dashed down the hall and into the classroom. Only minutes after they had sat down, the teacher walked in. A few whispers ran across the classroom when she stepped in. Dren blinked. She had short raven black hair and dark green eyes. Huge butterfly wings poked out behind her, decorated with deep jewel-like colors and framed with black, giving them the look of a stained glass window. She smiled brightly at the class.

"Good morning," she said. "I am Sensei Erinda."

She took a quick roll call. Fortunately, nothing strange happened when she called Dren's name. He let out a breath.

"Now, I hope by now that most of you are already aware of the existence of other dimensions," she said. "Has anyone heard of Earth?"

Mairead raised her hand. Erinda nodded at her.

"Go on," she said.

"Earth is a planet populated by humans," said Mairead. "They aren't aware of other dimensions, magic or any other races."

"Very good," said Erinda. "Humans are a primitive species compared to many on Synoch. However, in other ways they are more advanced. For example—"

A piercing screech filled the air. Dren clapped his hands over his ears.

"What is that?" someone shouted.

Erinda suddenly became totally serious.

"Students form a single file line and move toward the back of the school!" she shouted. "Get away from the windows! Quickly now! Don't stop!"

Dren and Mairead darted into the line and they moved into the hall. The siren was still screaming and Dren winced. Someone darted from the crowd and toward the door. It was Orla.

"Fallon-san, get back here!" Erinda shouted.

Orla didn't seem to hear. The glass door shattered into pieces as a bolt of lightning hit it. Orla darted out into the street.

"Is it a storm?" Dren shouted over the siren.

"I don't know!" said Mairead.

Suddenly the ceiling crumbled in front of the class, blocking their way to the back of the school. Dren squinted up through the hole in the ceiling and saw a perfectly clear sky.

"Students get back!" Erinda shouted. "Stay back, the ceiling is unstable! Follow me and stay close!"

The students huddled behind Erinda as she strode to the shattered door.

"Stay close to me; we're going toward the Hold!" Erinda shouted.

"The Hold?" said Dren.

"But that hasn't been used in years!" Mairead whispered to Dren.

Dren looked over the mass of students and tried to see what was going on. Outside the school building was a giant squid like creature with vines for arms. Several Cyniclons and elves were fighting to contain the creature. People were screaming and running away from the thing. Dren bumped into someone in the crowd. He looked up and saw Bryn. Kendra, Rikuto and Kokoro were right behind him.

"When did you get here?" Dren asked.

"Just now," said Bryn.

"What is that thing?" asked Mairead.

"A kirema anima," said Kendra, pushing out of the crowd. "I thought they were extinct."

"What does Orla think she's doing?" Kokoro said suddenly.

Dren turned. Orla was running towards the kirema anima. It let out a screech and a vine came down towards her. She flipped into the air and started flying above the creature, sending what looked like silver fire down at the creature.

"How's she doing that?" said Rikuto.

A vine hit one of the Cyniclons fighting and he fell from the air. Orla landed in front of him and shot more silver fire.

"Orla get out of here!" said the Cyniclon. It was Sardon.

"Not a chance," said Orla.

Sardon got to his feet and shot lightning from a red fan he was holding.

"Orla get with the other students and into the Hold with the others!" he shouted.

Dren didn't pay much attention to what happened next. In almost slow motion, he saw a young girl running after her mother, then tripping and falling within reach of the creature. The girl burst out in tears, clutching her ankle and the mother screamed as a vine came down fast toward her daughter. Dren wasn't sure what happened next.

He felt his body vibrating at an intense speed. He felt himself dart forward, easily dodging the vine tentacles. He scooped up the girl and skidded out of reach of the kirema anima.

"Great Blue, Dren!"

Mairead rushed over to him. The others were right behind her.

"You did not just do that!" said Kokoro in disbelief.

"I think I did," said Dren.

The little girl was trembling in his arms. He stood up. The mother ran over to him and took the girl from his arms.

"Thank you," she said, breathing hard. She squeezed the little girl tight and the girl buried her face in her mother's chest.

"You're welcome," said Dren, still a little dazed.

"How did you do that?" said Rikuto. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"I don't know," said Dren. "I don't know what came over me."

He swallowed. He still felt like his was vibrating, but maybe he was just trembling.

"It was amazing," said Kendra. "You were moving so fast, I could barely see you!"

"Never mind that, we have to get out of here!" said Kokoro. "It sounds like we just had another break-in."

"Sounds like?" said Rikuto.

"Geez, Rikuto," said Kokoro. "You've been dating me for two years and you still don't realize that elven hearing is better than Cyniclon."

"Forget about it," said Dren. "You're right, we need to catch up with the others."

They ran across the now empty square (well, empty except for the kirema anima and the people fighting it) and into the street. It was eerily quiet. Dren almost stopped from the sheer terror that came with the silence. He shook his head and kept moving.

There was a flash of something purple darting across an alley. Dren really did stop this time. What was that?

The thing darted across the alley again. Was it a kirema anima? The others didn't seem to notice that he had stopped. Dren didn't notice them keep running, farther and farther. He noticed when they were completely out of sight.

Dren whirled around towards where they had gone. Then he realized that he was completely turned around. He couldn't figure out which way to go. Both sides of the street looked the same. Taking a wild guess, he charged off in one direction. In minutes he came to another crossroad.

Which way was the Hold? Dren tried to see above the tall buildings, but it was no use. The Hold entrance was a small inconspicuous building to throw off suspicion; built during the period of war and siege. Dren made another random guess and took off down that street.

The entire city was ominously quiet. Was everyone down in the Hold already? Dren stopped, completely lost.

"Well now what?" he said out loud.

His voice seemed to trigger events into action. Something huge and black dove from an alley. Dren ducked and it soared over him, landing behind him. The thing was like a giant panther, nearly as tall as Dren was. Its eyes glowed bright yellow and it snarled at Dren with the biggest fangs Dren had ever seen.

Dren ducked under a swipe from a massive paw. Suddenly the sun reflected off of a giant red jewel on the panther's chest and right into Dren's eyes. He stumbled back, temporarily blinded. He tripped over something and fell hard on his backside.

The panther snarled and stalked closer. Purple lightning coursed over Dren's head and hit the panther hard in the face. It hissed in anger and slunk back a few steps. Something small and purple landed in front of Dren. Dren stared at it.

It was a rabbit. The rabbit was about the size of a cat, with rich purple fur and huge purple eyes. Dark purple tipped its ears and striped its long tufted tail. Purple lightning sparked around a strange golden U-shaped object attached to its forehead. Another burst of lightning shot from the object and hit the panther, forcing it further back.

"I won't be able to hold it back forever!" the rabbit shouted.

"You can talk?" said Dren.

"No time for stupid questions!"

The panther stalked forward again, saliva dripping from its bared teeth.

"Transforming would be a good idea right about now!" said the rabbit.

"What do you mean transforming?"

"Didn't I say there was no time for stupid questions?"

A beam of red light shot from the red jewel on the panther's chest and Dren ducked. The beam hit a building behind him and burnt a hole right through the wall.

"Say Kyalda Pendant!" said the rabbit.

"What?"

"JUST DO IT!"

Dren took a deep breath.

"Kyalda Pendant!"

There was a bright flash of white light and Dren threw up his hands. The light condensed like water into a small white oval shape. Dren reached forward and grabbed it. The light winked out instantly and Dren was clutching something small and hard. He opened his hand. It was a small white pendant emblazoned with a golden whirlwind.

"What is this?" he murmured.

"Stop staring at it and TRANSFORM already!"

"Um…"

Suddenly he knew what to do. He held up the pendant.

"Kyalda Wind! METAMORPHOSIS!"

There was a bright flash of white light. Dren felt funny. He looked down at himself.

"No way…." he said.

He was wearing some weird white shirt with a thick golden belt and leggings. But that wasn't the weird part. He had a _tail_. It was thick and lizard-like but covered in white feathers and tipped by what looked like long white fur. He glanced behind him to see a pair of huge feathered white wings.

"This is too weird," he said.

"There is no time for being shocked!" said the rabbit. "You have to fight!"

"First you make get wings, and then you expect me to fight with nothing more than a weird costume?" said Dren.

"Just do what feels right!" said the rabbit.

The panther leapt toward Dren. Dren leapt into the air and soared above the panther. This was nothing like flying by himself. His wings felt so powerful, pushing him to speeds he never knew he could reach. With only a slight tip of one wing he could change direction so easily. He felt more agile than he ever had while flying without wings.

Something tugged at the back of his mind. Were those words forming in his head? Dren landed behind the panther. It turned to face him, yellow eyes glinting. Dren held out his hands.

"Wind Sais!" he shouted.

Two sais appeared in his hands, a white feather hanging from each and emblazoned with the same golden whirlwind. The panther leapt for him and Dren thrust the weapons in front of him. A gold shield burst up in front of him and the panther rammed into it hard. It shrunk back, pacing back and forth and glaring at Dren. The shield faded.

Dren held up the sais, more words forming in his mind.

"Ribbon…"

White and gold energy sparked around the tips of the sais.

"Wind Storm!"

The sparks of gold and white swirled into a huge whirlwind, bursting from his weapons and towards the panther. It screeched and vanished. A jellyfish thing floated away into the air, leaving behind a small black cat to vanish into an alley.

Dren felt dizzy. He leaned against a wall before he fell over. He glowed and changed back to normal, the white pendant clutched in his hand.

"That was great!" said the rabbit. "I haven't seen that much out of a Kyaldian since Kyalda Night."

"What in the name of Blue just happened?" said Dren. "Why did I grow wings and why do I have to fight kirema anima?"

The rabbit blinked.

"I don't think I'm the one that should be explaining that," he said.

"Well then who should?" asked Dren.

"That would be me."

Dren froze. Was that who he though it was? He turned around slowly. Leoti was leaning against a wall, eyes closed.

"It's you!" said Dren.

"Yes, it's me," said Leoti. "Well, that kirema anima left quite a mess, didn't it?"

Dren glanced around the street. The buildings were nearly in ruins and the street was torn up as though a tornado had come through—oh wait, a tornado _had_ come through.

"How am I going to explain this?" Dren asked numbly.

"You won't have to," said another familiar voice.

A yellow tabby trotted from the ally and changed into Meav. She flicked her tail and the entire place fixed itself.

"What—who—how—what's going on?" asked Dren.

"Follow us," said Leoti. "We'll explain."

"More like you will," said Meav. "I'm _done_ explaining things."

Dren's head spun. What on Synoch was going on?

Starfireelf15's comments: Well, well, well, now it's getting interesting! So what do you think? _I_ think it went well, but of course I would think that. Leoti and Meav are quite the mysterious characters. Don't worry, all of this confusion will be cleared up in the next chapter; at least, most of it. Leoti will remain a mysterious character for most of the story. Please rate and message! I love feedback and helpful criticism, but I won't respond to mean comments. Tune in for the next chapter: Fire and Wind.

Chapter Four

Fire and Wind- The Loss of Someone Dear

Dren stared around the strange house. Leoti, it seemed, lived in a tree house. The whole place was one big puzzle. Sunlight streamed in through the huge windows, illuminating piles of paper and books. A bookshelf against one wall held books, plus a bunch of strange objects: long elegantly carved sticks, shiny medallions, gems, what looked like green and blue scales, photographs of people and places, even small paintings that appeared to be moving by themselves.

The books themselves were strange. From where Dren was sitting, he could make out _The Sword of Shannara, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, A Tolkien Bestiary _and _A Practical Guide to __Dragons. _The walls that weren't windows had paintings of strange places and scrolls with weird characters. The paintings showed valleys filled with unicorns, a metallic city with towering skyscrapers, a courtyard filled with people sitting around a table with a small golden ring, and so on and so forth.

Suddenly Dren's eyes landed on a book sitting on the small table in front of him. He couldn't really see it because Anzu—the purple rabbit—was sitting on it and cleaning himself off, but he could see enough. The cover was pink and read _Tokyo Mew Mew. _He could just see the head of a girl with bright pink hair and black cat ears…

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Leoti, appearing from the door at the back of the room.

Dren tore his eyes away from the book and looked up at Leoti. She still seemed like she was younger than him, yet years older than him at the same time.

"Okay, I think I deserve some kind of explanation," he said.

"And you're going to get it," said Meav, sitting cross-legged in a patch of sun.

Leoti sat down on a chair facing Dren and Anzu leapt into her lap, knocking down the book where Dren couldn't see it. Leoti starting stroking Anzu, almost absent-mindedly. Anzu let out a soft humming purr.

"So," said Leoti. "I assume you've heard of the Kyaldians?"

Dren nodded. The Kyaldians had pushed back the kirema anima years ago, resulting in that there hadn't been an attack since. That is, until today.

"The original team consisted of five members," Leoti continued. "Kyalda Night, Kyalda Thunder, Kyalda Light, Kyalda Twister and Kyalda Amberfire.

"After they defeated the last of the kirema anima, they vanished from public view and went on to live normal lives, though thy still retained their powers."

Dren wondered where this conversation was heading.

"Unfortunately," said Leoti. "Kyalda Night died in a fire and Kyalda Twister died in the forest at about the same time, about three years ago."

Cold crept up Dren's back. His father had died in the forest about three years ago.

"Kyalda Thunder lost his powers due to shock after Kyalda Night's death," said Leoti.

"So there's only two Kyaldians left," said Dren.

"Correct," said Leoti. "One of them, Kyalda Light, is your mother, Kelda."

Dren stared at Leoti. His mom, a Kyaldian? No possible way!

"Why didn't she ever tell me?" Dren said.

"She probably didn't think it was important," said Leoti. "Out of all of them, Kelda was the one who thought that being a Kyaldian was no big deal."

Dren swallowed.

"Then Kyalda Twister," said Dren. "He was my dad, wasn't he."

It wasn't a question. Dren already knew the answer.

"Yes," said Leoti.

Dren forced away his tears and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Then who's Kyalda Amberfire?" he asked.

"She would prefer her identity be kept a secret for now," said Leoti. "I will not be the one to reveal her."

There was an awkward pause.

"Okay, so does Kyalda Thunder want his identity a secret too?" asked Dren.

"Thunder no longer considers himself a Kyaldian, so I see no problem with telling you," said Leoti. "I believe you know him. His name is Sardon Fallon."

"Sardon is a Kyaldian?" said Dren in disbelief.

"Was," corrected Leoti. "And he was married to Kyalda Night, a mortal Moon Wraith named Hailie."

Dren let out a breath, trying to let all the information sink in.

"So, if both my parents were Kyaldians," he said slowly. "And I transformed today… does that mean I'm a Kyaldian?"

Leoti nodded.

"Kyaldians gain their powers from Kyalda, a strange crystalline force that appears to run through their veins much like blood," said Leoti. "Also they draw power from certain magical creatures; in your case, the Feathered Dragon.

"I noticed that you inherited your father's air powers, not to mention his symbol. Fen always had the golden whirlwind on white."

Dren forced away tears again and took a deep breath. Suddenly he realized his pendant was gone. He didn't remember carrying it with him to the tree house…

"Where did my pendant go?" he asked.

Leoti pointed at his chest. He looked down.

He was wearing a golden disc on a thin gold chain. A hole had been punched in the center, where a small white light hovered.

"That is your Eversphere," said Leoti. "Without it, you can't transform."

"But I didn't have this before and I transformed," said Dren.

"That was your first time, and you relied completely on your own strength," said Leoti. "That drained a lot of you, and that's what made you so dizzy after you returned to normal."

"So I use the Eversphere to transform without using my own strength?"

"You still use your own strength, however, the Eversphere focuses the energy and prevents you from draining yourself."

Dren blinked, still slightly confused.

"The Eversphere also gets warm when danger is near," said Leoti. "It will turn cold when you get close to another Kyaldian. As far as we know, there are four others."

"Okay," said Dren. "Anything else I should know about it?"

"It will help you communicate with your teammates when you find them," said Leoti. "Also, you can't let anyone else get a hold of it. We're not exactly sure what would happen, but it would be disastrous."

"Joy."

Dren sighed and leaned back.

"So where does that leave me?" he asked. "Basically I have to find my teammates and fight kirema anima until they decide to leave us alone again?"

"The kirema anima were not the reason the Kyaldians were formed," said Leoti. "Deep Blue was the reason the Kyaldians were formed."

Anzu froze and his hair stood on end. Meav glared at Leoti.

"I told you," she hissed. "He knows when you say his name!"

"And he won't do anything while I'm around," said Leoti. "He knows his servants are too weak to fight all of us at once and he can't come himself."

Dren could see the sparks flying from Meav's eyes. Anzu straightened and leapt from Leoti's lap. He leapt back on the table and looked up at Dren.

"As they're busy," he said. "I'll explain."

Anzu cleared his throat and began.

"So, the Enemy," he said. "Well, he was first known as an old god three million years ago during the Old Earth Period."

_Just like Azulda, _thought Dren.

"Well, while he was around, things were pretty tough," said Anzu. "There was a whole war going around with him taking over Earth piece by piece.

"Well, he nearly succeeded when Prince Jun of the old country Verity rose up against him and defeated him. He was thought to be dead after that. But then, three million years later, he reappeared on Synoch and tried to take over again.

"Of course, it was very subtle. He sent others to do his dirty work and used kirema anima to make the races of Synoch think that some natural cause was to blame. Luckily, Erinda—I believe she's a teacher of yours—found out and formed the first Kyaldian team. Luckily they defeated him once again, this time for good—or so we thought."

"He came back a second time?" said Dren. "But how?"

"We're not sure," said Anzu. "He's definitely not a Cyniclon, nor any other race we know about. We had a lucky break this time, however. The Enemy doesn't have a true form; he can only appear _between_ as a presence and a voice. He has a form somewhere, but that form has no idea of who he really is."

"I feel bad for that person, wherever he is," said Dren.

"Yes," said Anzu. "But either way, we have to defeat him and defeat him fast."

Suddenly something flashed underneath a pile of papers. Leoti frowned and pushed the papers aside. A small crystal globe on a stand was flashing yellow. Leoti tapped it lightly and it stopped flashing.

"Is something wrong, Sardon?" she said.

To Dren's surprise, Sardon's voice came from the globe.

"_Leoti, it's Kelda! The house caught on fire and she's stuck inside!"_

Leoti leapt to her feet.

"I'm coming!" she said. "Dren, you better come too!"

Dren leapt to his feet and teleported, not worrying about whether or not Leoti had a way of getting there fast. He appeared in front of his house, lit by the flames.

"MOM!"

Sardon appeared from nowhere and grabbed his arm.

"You can't go in there!"

"I have to help her!" Dren shouted.

"Dren, listen to me!" Sardon shouted over the crackle of fire.

Dren stopped struggling.

"This isn't an ordinary fire!" Sardon said. "Your element is air. If you go in there the fire will feed off of your power and grow stronger!"

"But my mom—"

Something invisible wrapped around his arm and tugged him forward, out of Sardon's grasp. Before either of them could do anything, the invisible force pulled Dren through a window and threw him the floor. Smoke curled around him, making him cough.

A shadow appeared in a flaming doorway. The fire around him turned black and swirled toward him like a hungry creature. The shadowed figure darted over to him and pulled him out of the way. Dren looked up, but he couldn't see the figure through the smoke.

"Mom?" he said.

He coughed again, inhaling more smoke. A bit of air flowed around him, clearing the smoke from around him. Dren blinked. The figure that had saved him was gone.

"Dren? What are you doing in here?"

Dren whirled to see his mom.

"Something pulled me in—"

"Never mind, not now," said Kelda. She grabbed his wrist. "We have to get out here."

She pulled him around the now regular flames. Dren could see the flaming doorway that led outside. They were almost there!

Suddenly the flames turned black again and charged for Dren, this time much faster.

"NO!"

Kelda knocked Dren to the ground and the flames swirled around her, hiding her from view.

"MOM!" Dren shouted.

Suddenly, the entire fire went out, leaving the house untouched and looking normal as ever. However, there was one difference.

His mother was gone.


	5. Chapter 4: Fire and Wind

Dren stared around the strange house. Leoti, it seemed, lived in a tree house. The whole place was one big puzzle. Sunlight streamed in through the huge windows, illuminating piles of paper and books. A bookshelf against one wall held books, plus a bunch of strange objects: long elegantly carved sticks, shiny medallions, gems, what looked like green and blue scales, photographs of people and places, even small paintings that appeared to be moving by themselves.

The books themselves were strange. From where Dren was sitting, he could make out _The Sword of Shannara, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, A Tolkien Bestiary _and _A Practical Guide to Dragons. _The walls that weren't windows had paintings of strange places and scrolls with weird characters. The paintings showed valleys filled with unicorns, a metallic city with towering skyscrapers, a courtyard filled with people sitting around a table with a small golden ring, and so on and so forth.

Suddenly Dren's eyes landed on a book sitting on the small table in front of him. He couldn't really see it because Anzu—the purple rabbit—was sitting on it and cleaning himself off, but he could see enough. The cover was pink and read _Tokyo Mew Mew. _He could just see the head of a girl with bright pink hair and black cat ears…

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Leoti, appearing from the door at the back of the room.

Dren tore his eyes away from the book and looked up at Leoti. She still seemed like she was younger than him, yet years older than him at the same time.

"Okay, I think I deserve some kind of explanation," he said.

"And you're going to get it," said Meav, sitting cross-legged in a patch of sun.

Leoti sat down on a chair facing Dren and Anzu leapt into her lap, knocking down the book where Dren couldn't see it. Leoti starting stroking Anzu, almost absent-mindedly. Anzu let out a soft humming purr.

"So," said Leoti. "I assume you've heard of the Kyaldians?"

Dren nodded. The Kyaldians had pushed back the kirema anima years ago, resulting in that there hadn't been an attack since. That is, until today.

"The original team consisted of five members," Leoti continued. "Kyalda Night, Kyalda Thunder, Kyalda Light, Kyalda Twister and Kyalda Amberfire.

"After they defeated the last of the kirema anima, they vanished from public view and went on to live normal lives, though thy still retained their powers."

Dren wondered where this conversation was heading.

"Unfortunately," said Leoti. "Kyalda Night died in a fire and Kyalda Twister died in the forest at about the same time, about three years ago."

Cold crept up Dren's back. His father had died in the forest about three years ago.

"Kyalda Thunder lost his powers due to shock after Kyalda Night's death," said Leoti.

"So there's only two Kyaldians left," said Dren.

"Correct," said Leoti. "One of them, Kyalda Light, is your mother, Kelda."

Dren stared at Leoti. His mom, a Kyaldian? No possible way!

"Why didn't she ever tell me?" Dren said.

"She probably didn't think it was important," said Leoti. "Out of all of them, Kelda was the one who thought that being a Kyaldian was no big deal."

Dren swallowed.

"Then Kyalda Twister," said Dren. "He was my dad, wasn't he."

It wasn't a question. Dren already knew the answer.

"Yes," said Leoti.

Dren forced away his tears and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Then who's Kyalda Amberfire?" he asked.

"She would prefer her identity be kept a secret for now," said Leoti. "I will not be the one to reveal her."

There was an awkward pause.

"Okay, so does Kyalda Thunder want his identity a secret too?" asked Dren.

"Thunder no longer considers himself a Kyaldian, so I see no problem with telling you," said Leoti. "I believe you know him. His name is Sardon Fallon."

"Sardon is a Kyaldian?" said Dren in disbelief.

"Was," corrected Leoti. "And he was married to Kyalda Night, a mortal Moon Wraith named Hailie."

Dren let out a breath, trying to let all the information sink in.

"So, if both my parents were Kyaldians," he said slowly. "And I transformed today… does that mean I'm a Kyaldian?"

Leoti nodded.

"Kyaldians gain their powers from Kyalda, a strange crystalline force that appears to run through their veins much like blood," said Leoti. "Also they draw power from certain magical creatures; in your case, the Feathered Dragon.

"I noticed that you inherited your father's air powers, not to mention his symbol. Fen always had the golden whirlwind on white."

Dren forced away tears again and took a deep breath. Suddenly he realized his pendant was gone. He didn't remember carrying it with him to the tree house…

"Where did my pendant go?" he asked.

Leoti pointed at his chest. He looked down.

He was wearing a golden disc on a thin gold chain. A hole had been punched in the center, where a small white light hovered.

"That is your Eversphere," said Leoti. "Without it, you can't transform."

"But I didn't have this before and I transformed," said Dren.

"That was your first time, and you relied completely on your own strength," said Leoti. "That drained a lot of you, and that's what made you so dizzy after you returned to normal."

"So I use the Eversphere to transform without using my own strength?"

"You still use your own strength, however, the Eversphere focuses the energy and prevents you from draining yourself."

Dren blinked, still slightly confused.

"The Eversphere also gets warm when danger is near," said Leoti. "It will turn cold when you get close to another Kyaldian. As far as we know, there are four others."

"Okay," said Dren. "Anything else I should know about it?"

"It will help you communicate with your teammates when you find them," said Leoti. "Also, you can't let anyone else get a hold of it. We're not exactly sure what would happen, but it would be disastrous."

"Joy."

Dren sighed and leaned back.

"So where does that leave me?" he asked. "Basically I have to find my teammates and fight kirema anima until they decide to leave us alone again?"

"The kirema anima were not the reason the Kyaldians were formed," said Leoti. "Deep Blue was the reason the Kyaldians were formed."

Anzu froze and his hair stood on end. Meav glared at Leoti.

"I told you," she hissed. "He knows when you say his name!"

"And he won't do anything while I'm around," said Leoti. "He knows his servants are too weak to fight all of us at once and he can't come himself."

Dren could see the sparks flying from Meav's eyes. Anzu straightened and leapt from Leoti's lap. He leapt back on the table and looked up at Dren.

"As they're busy," he said. "I'll explain."

Anzu cleared his throat and began.

"So, the Enemy," he said. "Well, he was first known as an old god three million years ago during the Old Earth Period."

_Just like Azulda, _thought Dren.

"Well, while he was around, things were pretty tough," said Anzu. "There was a whole war going around with him taking over Earth piece by piece.

"Well, he nearly succeeded when Prince Jun of the old country Verity rose up against him and defeated him. He was thought to be dead after that. But then, three million years later, he reappeared on Synoch and tried to take over again.

"Of course, it was very subtle. He sent others to do his dirty work and used kirema anima to make the races of Synoch think that some natural cause was to blame. Luckily, Erinda—I believe she's a teacher of yours—found out and formed the first Kyaldian team. Luckily they defeated him once again, this time for good—or so we thought."

"He came back a second time?" said Dren. "But how?"

"We're not sure," said Anzu. "He's definitely not a Cyniclon, nor any other race we know about. We had a lucky break this time, however. The Enemy doesn't have a true form; he can only appear _between_ as a presence and a voice. He has a form somewhere, but that form has no idea of who he really is."

"I feel bad for that person, wherever he is," said Dren.

"Yes," said Anzu. "But either way, we have to defeat him and defeat him fast."

Suddenly something flashed underneath a pile of papers. Leoti frowned and pushed the papers aside. A small crystal globe on a stand was flashing yellow. Leoti tapped it lightly and it stopped flashing.

"Is something wrong, Sardon?" she said.

To Dren's surprise, Sardon's voice came from the globe.

"_Leoti, it's Kelda! The house caught on fire and she's stuck inside!"_

Leoti leapt to her feet.

"I'm coming!" she said. "Dren, you better come too!"

Dren leapt to his feet and teleported, not worrying about whether or not Leoti had a way of getting there fast. He appeared in front of his house, lit by the flames.

"MOM!"

Sardon appeared from nowhere and grabbed his arm.

"You can't go in there!"

"I have to help her!" Dren shouted.

"Dren, listen to me!" Sardon shouted over the crackle of fire.

Dren stopped struggling.

"This isn't an ordinary fire!" Sardon said. "Your element is air. If you go in there the fire will feed off of your power and grow stronger!"

"But my mom—"

Something invisible wrapped around his arm and tugged him forward, out of Sardon's grasp. Before either of them could do anything, the invisible force pulled Dren through a window and threw him the floor. Smoke curled around him, making him cough.

A shadow appeared in a flaming doorway. The fire around him turned black and swirled toward him like a hungry creature. The shadowed figure darted over to him and pulled him out of the way. Dren looked up, but he couldn't see the figure through the smoke.

"Mom?" he said.

He coughed again, inhaling more smoke. A bit of air flowed around him, clearing the smoke from around him. Dren blinked. The figure that had saved him was gone.

"Dren? What are you doing in here?"

Dren whirled to see his mom.

"Something pulled me in—"

"Never mind, not now," said Kelda. She grabbed his wrist. "We have to get out here."

She pulled him around the now regular flames. Dren could see the flaming doorway that led outside. They were almost there!

Suddenly the flames turned black again and charged for Dren, this time much faster.

"NO!"

Kelda knocked Dren to the ground and the flames swirled around her, hiding her from view.

"MOM!" Dren shouted.

Suddenly, the entire fire went out, leaving the house untouched and looking normal as ever. However, there was one difference.

His mother was gone.


	6. Chapter 5: Help From Above

Dren was completely numb the next couple days of school. He hadn't told anyone about his mother yet. For the last couple of days he had been living at his house alone, but sooner or later he'd be found out and made to move in with someone else. He walked silently down the hall for lunch.

Mairead gave him a look the moment he sat down.

"Okay Dren, I left you alone for the last couple of days," she said. "But I need to know what happened to you or you're going to waste away into nothing."

Dren looked up at her. Was he ready to talk about it? She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"I told you about being abused by my foster parents when you pushed me," she said. "Whatever it is, it can't be too much worse than that."

Dren decided right then that he needed to tell someone.

"Mairead…"

He glanced around the room. Mairead rolled her eyes and jerked him to his feet.

"Let's go outside," she said. "You can tell me in our secret place."

Dren let Mairead pull him outside and into the school garden. She led him into the hedge maze and around countless corners. Finally they reached a dead end with a small hole in the corner. The pair crawled through and into a small patch surrounded by hedges.

A crystalline pool and waterfall played watery music in the corner. Neither Dren nor Mairead knew why this place had been made without a path leading to it, or where the water came from, but it had forever been their secret place that no one else knew about.

Mairead sat herself down on a flat polished rock and looked up expectantly at Dren. Dren sat on the other rock and took a deep breath. Before he knew it, the events of the last few days all poured out—his transformation included. Mairead didn't interrupt. Finally Dren finished. Mairead didn't say anything for a minute.

"So you're a Kyaldian?" she said.

"Yeah," said Dren. "You do believe me, right?"

"That's what I asked you when I told you about my foster parents," said Mairead. "Yes I do believe you. We're best friends right?"

She leaned back onto her hands.

"Besides, who would pretend their mother had vanished?"

Dren blinked. He had described his mother vanishing into the fire, but he hadn't exactly used that word. He had actually been more along the lines of 'died.'

"Yes, I did say vanished," said Mairead. "Because I don't believe she's really gone."

"You don't?" said Dren.

"Nope," said Mairead. "I never really bought the story of your dad dying either. I think they're still out there somewhere."

Dren wasn't so sure, but Mairead's words were calming.

"But, about me being a Kyaldian," he said. "Well…if this Deep Blue person knows that I exist, he—well I'm worried that you might be in trouble."

"Me?" said Mairead, surprise in her voice. "Why are you worried about me being in trouble? Shouldn't you worry more about yourself?"

"Well, we are best friends," said Dren. "What if he tried to attack you?"

Mairead turned slightly red.

"Well, I—I guess we can worry about that if it comes up," she mumbled. She continued in a slightly stronger voice. "On a more important note, are you even supposed to be telling me about this? I mean if you didn't know your parents were Kyaldians, why should I know?"

"I know I can trust you, Mairead," Dren said. "We have been best friends for what, nine years?"

"Ten."

"I rest my case," said Dren. "You will keep it a secret, right?"

Mairead smiled.

"Of course," she said.

"Hello? Synoch to Dren."

Dren blinked and looked up at Tarb.

"What?"

"I have been talking to you for the last five minutes and I don't think you heard a word of it," said Tarb.

"Oh, sorry," said Dren.

"What are you thinking about?" Tarb asked. "You've been pretty quiet all week."

"It's nothing," said Dren.

He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to tell the story about transforming and his mother dying—vanishing—again.

"Okay," said Tarb. "If you're sure."

"So what were you saying?' asked Dren.

"I was asking if you wanted to meet Illishar," said Tarb. "I think I mentioned him once to you."

Dren thought a minute. Tarb had mentioned Illishar—but more than just once. Dren wasn't exactly sure who—or what—Illishar was.

"Well…"

"Great, come on!"

Tarb started walking in the opposite direction.

"Tarb, wait!"

Dren ran after him. Tarb weaved around the people in the street and they emerged into an empty alleyway. Tarb kept walking toward the dead end.

"Um, Tarb, where is this headed?"

Tarb stopped right in front of the wall, then turned back to face Dren.

"Listen, as of now, only me and Tanya know about this," he said. "Please keep it a secret."

"Why wouldn't I?" said Dren.

After all, he was already keeping one secret. One really, really big secret.

Tarb turned back to the wall. He took a step toward it—and walked right through the wall.

"Tarb?" said Dren, staring at the wall.

Tarb stuck his head back through the wall.

"Come on. It's just an illusion."

He vanished again. Dren glanced back to the end of the alley to make sure no one was watching, then slipped through the wall.

"Whoa."

He was at the edge of a huge grassland, rolling with grass-covered hills. Flowers bobbed in the gentle breeze and the sharp scent of pine filled Dren's nostrils. He glanced back at where he had come and saw a thick gnarled old tree.

"What is this place?" asked Dren.

"I have no idea," said Tarb. "But it's amazing isn't it?"

"Very," said Dren.

At first glance the place had seemed normal. However, now that Dren looked more closely, things didn't seem quite as normal. The sky was a shade of purple-blue that Dren had never seen before and speckled with odd shaped clouds. The grass was a pale watery green, like a lake spreading out toward the horizon. He turned around to take a closer look at the trees. They looked like giant bonsai trees, cut into strange shapes. The smell wasn't entirely pine like either. It was like a mixture of pine, baking cookies and lavender.

Dren turned back to face the plain. Tarb was already out in it, staring up at the sky.

"So who exactly is Illishar?" asked Dren.

"Well I was trying to see if he was out here this morning," said Tarb, still staring at the sky. "He's usually out about now."

Dren glanced up at the sky apprehensively. Tarb had this really weird thing about potentially dangerous creatures. Well, they weren't always potentially dangerous, but most of them were. Like the poisonous wyrm he had been raising in the garden and Dragon Pegasii. Not to mention the time Tarb had gotten in trouble for trying to hatch a basilisk. The only things the Dren could think of that flew were dragons, wyverns and pegasii.

"It doesn't look like he's out," said Dren.

"Hm," said Tarb.

He pulled a small silver whistle from his pocket and blew it. Nothing happened for a long time. Suddenly something broke from the trees behind them and swooped over their heads. Dren ducked as wind rushed over him. The thing made a circle above them, then landed gently in front of them.

It was a hippogriff. Sunlight reflected off its metallic green feathers and golden coat. Its flaxen tail twitched and it cocked its head, fixing Dren with a huge orange eye. To Dren's surprise, it was only the size of a pony. He had thought hippogriffs were bigger. The hippogriff broke its gaze from Dren and trotted over to Tarb, giving and affectionate caw. It nudged Tarb with its beak. Tarb laughed and scratched it on the beak.

"Isn't he amazing?" said Tarb.

"That's one word for it," said Dren. "So this is Illishar."

"Yeah," said Tarb. "He's a Treegriff."

"Is there a difference between Treegriffs and Hippogriffs?"

Tarb nodded.

"Treegriffs are smaller, with green feathers and a palomino coat," said Tarb. "They're also better at using magic."

Dren watched Illishar a bit apprehensively. Illishar watched Dren back with a fierce stare. Dren didn't drop his gaze, even though he really wanted to. Suddenly Illishar's eyes crinkled as though smiling and he dipped his head to Dren. He let out a soft caw.

"Illishar says he likes you," said Tarb.

"You can understand him?" said Dren in surprise.

"Yeah," said Tarb, as though this was the most normal thing in the world.

Dren had to smile when Illishar nudged Tarb again and made him fall over. They seemed like really good friends.

"Hi Dren!"

Dren jumped and turned around. Tanya had come through the tree.

"I thought someone had come through," she said. "Hi Illishar!"

Tanya wrapped her arms around Illishar's neck. Illishar's eyes crinkled again and he rose up slightly, making Tanya hang in the air. She laughed and let go, falling back down. Dren laughed too. Illishar was a very intelligent creature.

Suddenly, Dren felt like he was being watched. He turned toward the trees, trying the peer through the darkness beneath the leaves. Was it just his imagination, or was someone standing underneath the tree? He blinked and the shadow was gone. However, the feeling wasn't. Dread crept through him. His Eversphere grew warm against his chest.

"Your Eversphere will turn warm when danger is near…"

It felt like ice was flowing through his veins. The purple sky above them was turning black with clouds.

"Tarb…" said Dren. "Is that normal?"

Tarb stared up at the sky.

"From what Illishar's told me, this place hardly ever gets thunderstorms," he said.

Illishar screeched, as though in warning. A lightning bolt hit the ground between the group. Illishar screeched again and leapt into the sky. A fire was starting where the lightning had struck. Dren stared with wide eyes. The fire was black.

"RUN!" he shouted.

Tarb and Tanya seemed to be thinking along the same lines. The trio made a break for the tree. Lightning struck the ground right in front of them, starting another black fire and blocking their exit. Dren skidded to a stop, panting.

"Can we teleport out of here?" Dren shouted.

Tarb shook his head.

"Teleportation doesn't work here for some reason," he shouted.

"Think we can fly over the flames?" Tanya shouted.

"Maybe," said Dren.

They leapt into the air at the same time. But the second they did, the flames rose higher, making it impossible to get over or around. The trio landed back on the ground.

"Now what?" said Tarb, eying the advancing flames.

Dren took a deep breath. If he transformed, maybe he could blow the flames away. He touched his Eversphere.

"Kyalda Pendant!"

The small white light broke from the golden ring and transformed into his pendant. He grabbed it.

"Kyalda Wind! METAMORPHOSIS!"

In a flash of light, Dren transformed. His wings beat powerfully, pushing him into the air. The flames rose with him, dancing higher and higher.

"Wind Sais! Ribbon…Wind Storm!"

The wind burst from his weapon, smashing into the flames and pushing them aside.

"Yes!"

The flames met again and seemed to grow bigger.

"What?"

Wait a minute, air fed fire! He was making it bigger! He landed again.

"Dren, what just happened to you—"

"We don't have time for that," said Dren. "We have to find a way out of here."

"But you have wings and a tail!"

"It's not important right now!"

The black fire swirled into a tornado and surged toward Dren. It smashed into him and he was dragged into the vortex. The scream behind him told him that Tanya and probably Tarb had been drug in too.

No I won't let them get hurt!

The fire was fading… He thought he saw a field of red flowers under a black sky…

There was a flash of green and pale blue light behind him. The fire closed in around him again, blocking the red flowers from view. Then the flames faded again, dropping him into the grassland once again.

The flames in front of him were writhing like something alive.

"Whoa," said Tarb's voice behind him.

"This is so COOL!" said Tanya.

Dren turned around. Tarb and Tanya had transformed. Tarb had the same kind of long sleeved shirt that Dren had, only green with a brown belt. He had big green wings and a flaxen horse tail like Illishar. His pendant had a green leaf on a brown background. Tanya had a short pale blue dress with a pleated skirt. A thick dark blue ribbon tied around her waist with a big bow in the back. A thin crystalline tail flicked behind her. Her symbol was of a prism-like crystal on a pale blue background.

"You guys are Kyaldians!" said Dren.

"This is too weird," said Tarb.

The fiery cyclone in front of them continued to writhe. Suddenly it collapsed upon itself and then grew into a shape. Dren squinted at it. What was it? Some sort of animal thing made of black fire?

"Eep!" said Tanya.

"That thing is freaky!" said Tarb.

"Wind Sais!" Dren shouted. "Ribbon Wind Storm!"

The whirlwind pushed the creature back. It immediately came forward again, even bigger than before.

"Dang."

Dren wasn't going to be much help in this battle.

"Any ideas?" Tarb said.

"Just say the first thing that comes into your head!" said Dren.

"I thought I already said I was freaking out!"

"You'll know what you're supposed to say if you just think!"

There was a dangerous pause while the creature drew closer, flames jumping in every direction.

"Crystal Scepter!"

"Vine Daggers!"

Tanya was now holding a thin gold scepter topped with a long crystal. Tarb was holding a pair of leaf shaped daggers with a silver bell hanging from each.

"Okay, that was interesting," said Tarb.

"Interesting? That was amazing!" said Tanya.

"MOVE!" shouted Dren.

The creature had opened up what could only be a mouth and let loose a surge of black fire. The trio darted out of the way. The creature advanced on Tarb, growling with a sound like crackling fire. Dren leapt to his feet.

"Tarb MOVE!"

The creature lifted what looked like a giant paw…

A high-pitched screech cut through the air. Illishar streaked down from the sky and scratched at the front of the creature. It took a step back, seemingly fixing its attention on Illishar. It raised its paw-like limb and swiped at Illishar's tiny form, as though he was nothing more than a fly. Illishar screeched again and continued to swoop down at what appeared to be the creature's eyes.

"Let's get this thing!" Dren shouted.

"Copy!" shouted Tanya. "Black Fire Flash!"

Black fire shot from her crystal and hit the creature, making it stumble back. Tarb go to his feet and plunged his daggers into the ground.

"Ribbon Vine Strike!"

Vines burst from the ground and wrapped around the creature. They burned away immediately.

"Plant and air isn't going to work!" said Dren.

"I have an idea!" said Tanya.

Tarb and Dren turned to her.

"You do?" said Tarb.

Tanya grinned and explained quickly.

"Well, for lack of other ideas, we'll try it," said Dren. "Let's go!"

They split up.

"Ribbon Vine Strike!"

The vines burst from the ground and spun in a circle, digging a shallow hole. The hole filled with water almost instantly.

"Black Fire Flash!" Tanya shouted.

The creature stumbled back toward the water.

"Ribbon Windstorm!" Dren shouted.

The wind blew the water from the hole and dropped it onto the Black Fire Creature. The thing screeched and vanished.

"Yes!" Tanya said. "I told you I had a good idea!"

"Good one, Tanya!" said Dren.

"Dren," said Tarb. "I don't like to be a party pooper, but what is going on?"

Dren grinned.

"It's a long story."

"I'm not going anywhere."

The sun set, glinting off of Illishar's green feathers as he soared above them.

Starfireelf15's comments: Cool plan. ^^ Tanya is amazing. Mairead is such a good friend. And don't worry, you'll find out more about her past later. But for now you just have to be confused. ^^ Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next episode: Changing With the Phases.


	7. Chapter 6: Changing With The Phases

I'm dreaming again.

_But he wasn't floating through the darkness. He was running through a dark forest, not knowing or caring where he went. Suddenly he burst out into a clearing and stopped, panting. Someone was standing in the center of the clearing, bathing in the moonlight. Who was it?_

_Another figure appeared in the moonlight before the first figure. The new person seemed to glow without the moon's help. She laid a gentle hand on the first figure's shoulder. The first figure started to swell and grow within the cocoon of moonlight. Finally she changed completely into something else—a willow tree. _

_The tree waved its silver leaves gently in the nonexistent breeze. The second figure let her hand drop to her side, still glowing though she was in the shadow of the tree. Slowly, she turned to face Dren. Her silver braids swung against her back and her silver eyes softened. She raised a hand and an intricate symbol appeared before her._

_The scene before him vanished instantly. Dren was hovering above a small park, watching a kirema rat attack a boy about his own age. The boy was thrown across the park before he even knew what the thing was._

"Masaya!_"_

_A girl about the same age ran into the park, red pigtails bouncing. Dren thought she looked familiar. Suddenly the rat stepped in front of her, snarling…_

Dren's eyes snapped open, breathing hard. There was a soft knock on the door.

"Dren, you awake?" said Bryn's voice.

"Uh, yeah," said Dren.

"Better hurry up, we're leaving soon."

Bryn's footsteps faded away. Dren sighed. After Bryn's parents had found out that Dren's mother had died, they insisted on taking him in. It wasn't that Dren didn't like living with them, but it reminded him every day that his mom was gone.

The last bell rang. Dren stood up.

"Hey Dren!"

He looked up. It was Mairead.

"Did you hear about the dance performance tonight in the Kyto Dome?" she asked.

"No," said Dren. "Why?"

Mairead swallowed and hurriedly put a slip of paper on his desk. Dren picked it up and looked at it. It was a ticket.

"It's at seven," she said. "See you there!"

She darted out of the room. Dren stared at the ticket in his hand. Why did he feel so weird all of the sudden? His heart was thumping against his chest like it was trying to get out and his face felt slightly hot. He shook his head.

_Probably just the heat._

But as he left the school, still clutching the ticket, he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the temperature.

Dren walked down the trail towards Bryn's house. Bryn and Rikuto were still at the school, doing some after school sport.

"AUGH! Whoa! WHOA!"

Dren jumped, startled by the sudden shout.

"Hang on, Tarb!"

A Dragon Pegasus burst out of the brush, bucking wildly as Tarb clung on for dear life. Tanya was circling above as though trying to find a way she could swoop down and pull him off.

"Tarb, what are you doing?" Dren shouted.

"Can't talk right nowwwwwww!"

He almost flew off of the Pegasus. The Pegasus galloped back into the woods.

"Whoaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Dren sighed.

"Better go after him," he muttered.

He found Tarb just as Tarb flew off the Pegasus, whirled through the air and landed in a tree. The Pegasus escaped into the woods.

The branches flailed in the tree Tarb had fallen into and Tarb fell out, landing on his back.

"Ouch," he said.

"Can you talk now?" Dren asked.

Tarb rolled his eyes and sat up tentatively.

"That was really close that time!" said Tanya. "Maybe we should have started with regular pegasii."

"Maybe, but that's no fun," said Tarb.

"You agreed with me the last time you tried to ride dragons that you should start with wyverns," Tanya pointed out.

"Yeah, but anyone can ride regular pegasii!" said Tarb.

This could go on for a while, and Dren was sure it would have if it hadn't been the person who stepped out of the trees. It was Orla. Orla didn't notice them at first; she was too busy glancing over her shoulder as though she was afraid someone was following her. She turned to face forward and saw the trio. A flash of shock registered in her eyes and she glanced at the ground as though something was missing.

Tarb saw her first. He let out a surprised 'eep!' and darted behind Tanya.

"Hi Orla!" said Tanya cheerily.

"What do you think you're doing out here?" Orla asked.

"Tarb was trying to ride a Dragon Pegasii."

"Leave me out of this, Tanya," Tarb squeaked from behind her.

Okay, so Orla was intimidating, but why was she scaring Tarb so much?

"What are you staring at?" Orla snapped at him.

"Well you kind of just stepped out of nowhere," said Dren.

_Not to mention you kind of attract attention._

Dren shook his head.

"Come on Tarb, Tanya. Let's go."

Dren turned around and started walking. Tarb hurried to follow, and Tanya trailed behind after giving Orla a cheery smile.

Dren stood outside Kyto Dome, trying to find Mairead in the crowd. It was hard to see with the setting sun and darkening sky.

"Dren! Over here!"

Dren turned and saw Mairead. He also saw Kendra, Kokoro, Rikuto, Bryn, Tarb and Tanya. He walked quickly over to the group.

"I didn't know you were all coming," he said.

"We thought we'd tag along," said Kendra, giving Dren a wink. Dren wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that, but he wasn't going to ask.

They went into the dome.

"Let's find our seats," said Kendra.

She glanced at the ticket she was holding and led the way. Just as Dren sat down next to Mairead the lights dimmed.

"Welcome to the twentieth annual Inter-Race Dance Performance, bringing all races together through dance!"

The voice resounded around the dome.

"Our first performance is from Delfina Metzi, elf from Mesok!"

Dren didn't really pay that much attention to the dances. He glanced at the program. Apparently, this performance was a bunch of people who had won auditions at different locations. He glanced down the list. The last performance would be someone from Kyoto. Dren wondered if he would know the person.

Before he knew it, the last performance was starting.

"And our final performance, from right here in Kyoto, is Orla Fallon!"

"What?"

For a second, Dren thought he had said that. But when he glanced at Mairead beside him, he saw she was the one who had spoken.

"It's her!" Rikuto whispered.

"The creepy girl?" said Kokoro.

Rikuto nodded.

The spotlight turned on, illuminating Orla standing in the center of the stage. The music started and Orla started dancing.

"Whoa, she's actually pretty good," said Bryn.

"She'd have to be to make it here," said Kendra.

Suddenly Dren's Eversphere flashed cold and then warm. He glanced down at it. Cold meant a Kyaldian was nearby, and warm meant—

A giant—_thing_—burst through the roof. Dren leapt to his feet. The thing was a grotesque mixture of a mermaid, a unicorn, a bird and a woman. There was a split-second of silence—then chaos broke out. Everyone was screaming and trying to get to the exit at once while the monstrous kirema anima destroyed everything with its giant tail.

"Dren!" Mairead shouted over the noise.

"Mairead, get the others out of here!" Dren shouted. "I've got to take care of this."

There was fear in Mairead's eyes, but she nodded and ran to the others.

"Kyalda Wind! METAMORPHOSIS!"

Dren transformed and took off into the air. Tarb and Tanya were right behind him.

"That thing is huge!" said Tanya.

"And ugly," said Tarb, sticking out his tongue.

"Let's wrap this up quickly," said Dren.

The others nodded.

"Ribbon…Vine Strike!"

"Ribbon…Crystal Counter!"

"Ribbon…Wind Storm!"

The three attacks hit the kirema anima. Smoke billowed in front of it and Dren landed on the stage.

"Did we get it?"

Suddenly the red tail whipped out of the smoke and pummeled Dren in the stomach. He went flying back and narrowly missed hitting the wall.

"Dren!" said Tarb.

"Are you okay?" asked Tanya.

"I think so," said Dren. "Ow."

The smoke blew away as the kirema anima dove for them. The trio leapt in different directions to avoid the attack. The anima crashed through the stage, creating more smoke.

"This smoke is making it worse," Dren muttered. "Ribbon Wind Storm!"

The wind blew all of the smoke away, revealing the kirema anima just above him. The tail whipped around and hit Dren again, throwing him across the auditorium.

"Ribbon Vine Strike!"

Vines shot up from the ground and wrapped around the anima, holding for a split second before it broke free again.

"Ribbon Crystal Counter!"

Pale blue energy smacked into the anima. It swung around and hit both Tarb and Tanya. Dren struggled to his feet—and got hit again.

This time he did smack into the wall. He crumpled to the ground, feeling like every bone was broken. He could see the stars and swirling clouds above him through the ruined ceiling. The kirema anima loomed above him, blocking the stars.

Dren braced himself for the strike.

It never came. Silver fire shot from nowhere and formed into a shining silver whip. The whip wrapped around the anima and held it fast. The anima screeched and struggled, but the whip held.

Dren tried to see the person who had rescued him. Was there someone standing in the shadows there?

More silver fire shot from the shadows, hitting the anima and illuminating the attacker for a split second. No way!

"Orla?" said Dren.

Orla leapt from the shadows, hands sparking with the silver fire. She threw a fireball at the kirema anima and it fell back. Orla shot bolt after bolt of the silver fire at the anima, forcing it back.

Suddenly black fire shot from the hole in the ceiling and struck Orla down. She fell to one knee, wincing.

"Wind Sais!" Dren shouted. "Ribbon—"

More black fire shot from the ruined ceiling and hit the sais from his hands. A second bolt of black fire hit Dren against a wall and his arm snapped. It was all he could do not to scream in pain. The kirema anima advanced on the two of them.

And then Orla started glowing.

Dren's Eversphere went cold as a small silver pendant appeared in Orla's hand.

"You're a Kyaldian!" he said.

"What?" said Orla.

She looked more surprised than Dren would have thought.

"You have to try and transform," said Dren, trying to stand. "I'm not going to be much help right now."

For the first time ever, Orla looked frightened.

"I—can't," she said.

"You have to!" said Dren. "You're a Kyaldian!"

"No!" said Orla. "I don't want to be one!"

There was terror in Orla's eyes.

"You can do it!" said Dren.

The kirema anima screeched and the tail surged toward them. The glow around Orla intensified.

"KYALDA MOON! METAMORPHOSIS!"

The silver light flashed bright and faded, leaving Orla transformed.

She was wearing a short silver dress with a thin bow tied behind her. A silver streak ran through her bangs. A long silver horse tail flicked behind her and small feathered silver wings shone metallically.

"This is… really weird," said Orla.

"You did it!" said Dren.

The kirema anima screeched again, bringing them both back to their senses.

"Oh yeah, we better beat that thing," said Dren.

"That would be a good idea," said Orla.

She held her hands out in front of her.

"Moon Sabers!" she said.

Two short curved swords appeared in her hands.

"Ribbon…"

Silver fire coursed up and down the two blades. With a swift movement, Orla brought them down in a slashing movement.

"Moonshine SURGE!"

The fire blasted from the swords and smashed into the kirema anima. It fell to the ground. Dren struggled to his feet, one arm dangling uselessly.

"Ribbon Wind Storm!"

Wind smacked into the kirema anima and it defused.

"We did it!" said Dren.

Orla didn't answer. Dren turned. She was glowing again.

"The moon…" she whispered, staring into the sky.

Dren glanced up. There was the full moon. Was it that late already?

He glanced back down at Orla—and there was the silver willow from his dream. The woman from his dream appeared at the base of the tree.

"I'm here, Orla," she whispered.

Her voice was low and sweet. Dren stared at the silvery shine around her, a light to rival the moon itself. She turned to face Dren and smiled.

"I never had a chance to meet you before," she said softly. "I always knew that Fen and Kelda would fall in love, though they protested otherwise."

"You're Hailie!" Dren said in disbelief.

She nodded.

"But—but you—you—"

"Died?" Hailie said.

Dren nodded numbly.

"A Moon Wraith, even one that chose mortality, can never truly die," she said softly. "But you must rest now, Kyalda Wind."

Dren felt tired.

"They will not miss you until morning," she whispered.

Then she faded away into the moonlight, and Dren fell gratefully into the deep waters of sleep.

When Dren woke up, the sun was peeking over the horizon and his arm felt better. He was in his normal form. He sat up. Orla slept peacefully and in normal form a little further off, but she was starting to stir. Tarb and Tanya were still in a deep sleep. Orla sat up.

"You saw her."

It wasn't a question, but Dren nodded. Orla sighed and hugged her knees.

"I'm only half Cyniclon," she said. "The other half is Moon Wraith, so I change into a tree at the full moon."

Dren nodded.

"I didn't know that happened," he said.

"Only with wraiths," said Orla. "Other spirits don't have that effect."

"I'm half sylph, actually," said Dren.

Orla looked slightly surprised.

"If your mother was Hailie, then your father must be—"

"Sardon, yes," said Orla.

She sounded slightly irritated. Dren's confusion must have showed, because she went on.

"Ever since mom died he's been overly protective."

"I wouldn't know how you feel," he said.

"Isn't your mom protective of you?" asked Orla.

"She used to be."

Orla looked confused for a second, then she looked sad.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"It wasn't your fault," he said.

Orla still looked sad.

"I'm sorry I didn't transform right away," she said softly. "I was afraid. I hate being different than everyone else. Being a Kyaldian just makes me more different."

"It's okay," said Dren. "Because as a Kyaldian at least you aren't alone!"

Orla looked up.

"And we're friends now, right?" he said.

Orla blinked, as though shocked.

"Are you sure?" she said. "People will think you're weird if you're friends with me."

"Don't worry, everyone thinks I'm weird anyway," said Dren, grinning.

Orla stared at him. Then she nodded slowly. Dren held out his hand, and Orla grasped it. They smiled at each other. Tarb and Tanya sat up. Tarb squeaked when he saw Orla and dived behind Tanya. Orla giggled and Tarb looked out in surprise when he heard her.

"What happened to her?" said Tanya.

It seemed like they had never seen her smile before, much less giggle. Dren grinned.

"Long story," he said.

"Why don't I start?" said Orla.

Starfireelf15's comments: Yay Orla's cool! So what do you think of Sardon's daughter? Isn't she awesome? Stay tuned for the next episode: Enter Freakiness.


	8. Chapter 7: Enter Freakiness

"Yay the beach!"

Tanya ran down to the edge of the water. A few drops sprayed out at her and she laughed. She cupped some water in her hands and tossed it at Tarb, soaking him.

"Tanya!"

Tarb started chasing Tanya up and down the beach, Tanya laughing like this was the funniest thing in the world.

"Great day!" said Kendra.

"Yeah," said Mairead, closing her eyes against the soothing wind.

Dren looked away from the waves.

"I think I feel sick," he said.

"Oh toughen up!" said Bryn, slapping Dren on the back and knocking him over.

"Bryn!"

Dren hit Bryn on the head.

"I feel sick enough without you hitting me!"

"You hit really hard," said Bryn, holding his head.

Dren groaned and sat down feeling nauseous.

"Are you okay Dren?" asked Mairead.

"I don't like water," Dren muttered. "I really don't like water."

Mairead glanced at Kendra. Kendra winked at her and gave her a nudge.

"Uh, Dren?" asked Mairead. "Did you want to go up the cliff trails instead? Then you wouldn't be able to see the ocean."

Dren looked up at her.

"Uh, sure," said Dren, feeling his face heat up.

He stood up.

"We'll be down here," said Kendra. "You two lovebirds have fun."

"Kendra!" said Mairead, face turning red.

Dren felt himself blushing even worse than he had been before. The pair left the others and went up to the foot of the trail.

"Sorry about that," said Mairead. "Kendra's a bit—oh I don't know what she is!"

"It's okay," said Dren.

They headed up the trail. As they went, their initial embarrassment vanished.

"It's so pretty," said Mairead.

Dren nodded.

"It really is a nice day," he said.

Wind rustled through the trees, tousling the pair's hair and whispering past their ears. Mairead sighed as though with pleasure. Dren smiled. This was much better than the beach.

They broke from the trees and came out onto a flat plateau overlooking the sea. It wasn't so bad seeing it from high above with the wind rushing all around him. Mairead stared across the ocean, wind picking up hair off her shoulders.

"It's so beautiful," she murmured. "The ocean just seems to go on forever."

Dren made the mistake of glancing down the cliff to where the sea crashed against the rocks. They sounded like rumbling thunder. Dren's stomach lurched and he took a step from the side.

"Mairead? I'm going to step away for a sec."

Mairead nodded, still staring at the sea. Dren took a few steps away from the cliff face until the sound of the waves was faint. He sighed. Some Kyaldian he was; getting sick just looking at the waves.

Suddenly his Eversphere flashed with heat. He thought he could feel a pair of eyes on him. He looked around, trying to find the source. Where was it coming from?

He searched the trees with his eyes. There! The presence was in that big oak!

He glanced back at Mairead, still standing on the bluff. He would have to take care of this before he went back. With a sudden burst of determination, he walked swiftly towards the oak. He thought he saw the shadow of someone standing on a branch…

When he got closer, the shadow darted away to another tree.

"Hey! Get back here!" said Dren.

He ran after the shadow. It continued to evade him, darting from one tree to the next. It didn't occur to Dren that it might being luring him away from Mairead until he realized he was lost.

_Dang._

He had totally fell for that trick. And what's worse, the shadow was gone. Dren turned in slow circles, trying to find the shadow or something familiar that might show him the way back.

Suddenly he was hit with the feeling of being watched again and his Eversphere warmed in warning.

"Who's there?"

"Who's there?" someone called back mockingly.

Dren bristled.

"Seriously Windy, you're way too easy to read."

The shadow suddenly swooped toward him. He felt lips on his.

He wanted to break away from the attacker, but for some reason he suddenly felt drained. It was if this enemy was draining his energy through the stolen kiss…

The opponent broke away and Dren slumped back. The person was still there. With a feeble effort, he lashed out. The person grabbed his wrist and twisted it painfully. Dren struggled, and then the person grabbed his chin and forced him to look up at her.

She was deathly pale. Her raven black hair and burning red eyes made her seem even paler. Her mouth twisted up into a smirk as Dren struggled.

"Let go!" said Dren.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I hurting you?"

She smirked again. Dren struggled against her weakly, unable to break free.

"Who are you?" he said.

"That's not really important, Windy, but my name is Kolora," said the Cyniclon.

She let go of him. He hit the ground and all the air rushed out of him. Kolora snapped her fingers and ropes of black fire surged from the ground, binding Dren's arms to his sides.

_Black fire._

The memory rushed through him, hurting more than the tight ropes did. His mom, knocking him out of the way and being consumed in a swirl of dark fire…

"It was you!" he said. "You killed my mom!"

Kolora laughed.

"So you are smart enough to put two and two together," she said.

Anger surged through Dren. He struggled against the fire more strongly, hatred rushing through him.

"You can do that all day, Windy and you won't get out," said Kolora.

"Let go of me!" Dren shouted at her.

"I don't think so."

The fiery bonds tightened and pain lanced through Dren. He didn't scream. He wouldn't give Kolora that pleasure. She watched with amusement, as though this was entertaining for her.

"Not going to yell for help, Windy?" she said.

"Stop calling me that," Dren said.

The bonds tightened even more, making it nearly impossible for him to breathe.

"Maybe you should stop talking," said Kolora.

She was having _way _too much fun with this.

"Maybe _you_ should just shut up," Dren said, very quietly though because he could barely breathe.

The ropes tightened even more. Black fire danced around Kolora's fingertips.

"Let's see now," she said. "Should I just let the vines squeeze you to death or should I kill you myself?"

Dren couldn't breathe. He ignored her, trying to find a way to use his air powers to filter air into his empty lungs.

"If I leave you here then someone will find you, so I guess I'll just kill you now," Kolora said. "It's been fun, Windy, but its goodbye now."

The flames formed a sword made completely from fire. Kolora raised it to slash down. Dren braced himself…

A pillar of water shot through the trees, pummeling Kolora into a tree trunk and leaving her soaking wet. The sword had disappeared.

A girl stepped from the trees, blue eyes flashing. Her long blond hair nearly brushed the ground. The blue of her eyes matched perfectly with the dark blue dress and cloak she wore. A quiver was strapped to her back. In one hand she held a long ebony colored staff, a sapphire winking at its tip. In the other was a long ebony bow.

Was she elven? No her ears were too big; they looked like a Cyniclon's.

With a fluid, almost water like movement, she dropped the staff, pulled an arrow from the quiver and shot. The arrow flew right past Dren, water somehow spraying from its tip and putting out the flames that held him. Air rushed back into his lungs and he fell forward, gasping. The girl leapt forward and caught him before he hit the ground.

"Who—who are you?" Dren asked weakly.

The girl didn't answer right away.

"I am the Blue Nymph," she said.

Weren't nymphs some kind of spirit? Tree? No tree spirits were called dryads… For some reason, though, Dren wasn't really concerned about it. Her voice was so soothing, like raindrops pattering against a roof mixed with a singing brook. He could lose himself in that voice.

The girl leaned him gently against a tree and stood up. Kolora was back on her feet, the fiery sword once more in her grasp.

"I don't appreciate interruptions from stupid blondes," Kolora hissed.

The Blue Nymph sent Kolora a look. That look was so dangerous, Dren himself was kind of frightened. Kolora seemed to falter. Then she regained her composure.

"Well I already know you can use that bow," she said, sneering. "But how good are you at swordplay?"

Without another warning, she darted towards the Blue Nymph, going for a deadly under swipe. With the grace of water, Blue Nymph flowed around the attack and produced a sapphire colored sword from the folds of her cloak.

Kolora skidded to a stop and charged again, this time with a sideswipe. Blue Nymph flicked her sword almost casually to deflect the blow. Kolora jerked back as though she expected a counter attack. None came. Kolora feinted to the head and went for the right. Blue Nymph blocked this attack as well.

Screeching in frustration, Kolora attacked recklessly, charging for the Blue Nymph head on. Blue Nymph sidestepped the advance and Kolora stumbled, thrown off balance. In that instant, Blue Nymph scooped up her staff and knocked Kolora in the back with it, throwing her to the ground. The sapphire blade flicked to Kolora's exposed neck.

Kolora panted, eyes filled with hatred. Blue Nymph watched her unflinchingly with a calm sort of power.

"Do you yield?" Blue Nymph asked softly.

Kolora glared at Blue Nymph again, then smirked.

"You think you've won," she said. "But I'll be back."

She vanished. Blue Nymph let her arm drop to her side—though Dren noticed she kept a firm grip on the hilt.

Blue Nymph turned to Dren and helped him to his feet.

"Why did you save me?" Dren asked.

"I was born to protect you," she said.

"But that doesn't make any sense."

Blue Nymph smiled at him. Then she vanished as it she had never been. Dren was almost wondering her he had imagined the whole thing. But then he saw the arrow the Blue Nymph had used to free him from the fire.

He picked it up and studied it. The arrow was black, like the Nymph's staff. The arrowhead seemed to be made from some kind of blue rock and the feathers the fletched the end were—metallic blue? What kind of bird around her had metallic blue feathers. He couldn't understand it.

Then he remembered—he was still lost. He looked around hopefully, thinking maybe he would recognize something. There was nothing. Then he glanced at his Eversphere.

Could it work?

He gripped the copper ring tightly and closed his eyes. He reached out with his mind. It wasn't working. He had no idea what he was doing. He wasn't telepathic!

Dren pushed aside these doubts and tried harder. Suddenly he felt like he was pushing against a barrier. He pushed harder, probing it for weaknesses.

Suddenly he found one and pushed all the way through. Feelings, emotions, images, snippets of thought all crashed down on him. He tried to ignore them, sorting through them to find someone who could hear him.

Tarb or Tanya? They both had Everspheres, too.

He reached for the twins, holding their image in his head. A sharp pain lanced through his head.

_They're too far away, _he thought. _Or maybe since they haven't figured out to get past the barrier in their heads they can't hear me._

He turned his thoughts to Orla. She was a half moon wraith, and moon wraiths were known for being empaths and telepathics.

Another pain lanced through his head. Her mind was closed off, as though she hadn't been able to breach her barrier.

Who was left? Leoti? She was probably too far away. Sardon? He probably shut down his mind after he lost Hailie. Meav? Her mind was probably too foreign to penetrate.

A thought occurred to him. Maybe Mairead would be able to hear him. Without consciously thinking about it, he reached out for Mairead's mind.

—Hello—

Dren felt a sudden connection. He felt Mairead's shock.

—Dren? Is that you—

—Yes, it's me—

—How are you doing this—

—I really have absolutely no idea. Listen, I got attacked and now I'm lost in the woods—

—Got it. I'll get the other Kyaldians and we'll find you—

—Thanks—

Dren broke off the connection, feeling drained yet exhilarated at the same time. He had had no idea that he had that kind of power. Was it something that anyone could learn how to do, or was it just Kyaldians? Why had he only been able to contact Mairead? Why hadn't he been able to contact others with Everspheres?

The questions swirled in his head nonstop. Suddenly he stopped and a new question arose.

_Who is the Blue Nymph?_

"She kissed you?"

Leoti had suddenly turned pale, hands gripping the arms of her chair tightly. Dren flushed.

"You don't have to go on about it," he muttered.

Mairead patted him on the back reassuringly, as if to tell him it wasn't his fault. Mairead had been accepted into the group of the Kyaldians once it was discovered that she knew about the Kyaldians and she was the only one that had been able to hear Dren.

"That's not what I'm talking about," said Leoti, eyes flashing. "Kolora was one of the enemies the original Kyaldians fought. She's half banshee."

Dren blinked.

"What does that mean?" asked Tarb.

"Banshees by nature need to feed on others energy," said Anzu. "They suck out energy through a kiss."

Dren shuddered.

"So she stole my magic?" he said.

"Well your magic is an integral part of you, so it can never been completely stolen, but she did steal some of your energy. That's what made you so weak."

Leoti leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temple.

"If she sucked your energy _and_ used her fire magic, how did you manage to escape?" she asked. "Before, the Kyaldians couldn't get away from her powers without help."

"I had help," said Dren. "Some strange Cyniclon girl saved me."

Leoti watched Dren, waiting.

"She said her name was Blue Nymph," he said.

He gave a quick description of what she looked like.

"She was like a weapons master," he said. "She could use a staff, a sword and a bow and arrow. Not to mention she easily defeated Kolora."

He paused.

"The weird thing is, I think I know her from somewhere," he said. "I just can't figure it out."

Leoti asked for more particulars on the Blue Nymph's fighting style. After she was done asking questions, Meav started asking about the way she acted. These interrogations seemed to go on forever.

"That sounds so AWESOME!" said Tanya. "I wish I had seen it!"

Tarb shrugged.

"It sounds weird," he said. "I mean, why would she say 'I was born to protect you?' It just sounds weird."

"It's cool!" Tanya said. "It's sooo romantic!"

Tarb rolled his eyes only to have Tanya knock him on the head.

"Just you wait, _you'll_ fall in love with somebody one day and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about," said Tanya.

"Like I'll ever fall in love," Tarb muttered.

Meav was whispering to Anzu and Anzu was nodding, his rabbit ears flapping. Leoti stared off into space. Sardon closed his eyes, as though thinking hard about it. Tarb and Tanya were still arguing. Orla stood at the window, staring out into the pouring rain. Dren found himself watching her, wondering what she was thinking.

Orla glanced at him, and Dren suddenly felt a connection between them, not like the one he now shared with Mairead, but something more emotional. Orla was…warning him? From what?

Dren let his thoughts drift to the Blue Nymph. Why did she seem so familiar? Was it possible that someone could transform into her and he could feel the same presence?

Meav? They had the same hair color but that was where the similarities ended. Plus Meav was a neko, and nekos weren't known for any special powers beyond transforming into animals. Maybe Leoti? They had the same hair color and mysterious personality. Still, Leoti didn't strike him as the type to save him. Tanya couldn't be that serious if the fate of the universe depended on it. Orla hadn't seemed surprised… Could she be the Blue Nymph?

_No way._

Still…it was a possibility, wasn't it? They had different eye and hair colors, but still… They both had the same mysterious and exotic aura. The dangerous glance Blue Nymph had given Kolora had definitely been like Orla.

—Mairead—

Mairead gave no sign on the outside that she had heard, but he could feel her recognition.

—What—

—Who do you think the Blue Nymph is—

Mairead didn't answer at first. He could feel her rolling emotions of uncertainty, see vague images that she couldn't understand.

—It's strange—

Dren blinked.

—What's strange—

—Blue Nymph… Her name almost seems familiar to me. Like maybe I've met her before—

They broke the connection, both having something to think about now.

Starfireelf15's comments: Awesome chapter! Kolora is totally freaky, I mean she's half banshee, but Blue Nymph is awesome. She is totally a weapons master AND she's a mysterious enigma! Is anyone thinking that her description sounds a bit familiar? Anyway, stay tuned for the next episode: Rising Shadows.


	9. Chapter 8: Rising Shadows

Leoti was asleep, head resting on her desk. The computer screen in front of her blinked as tiny dots moved across the screen. She breathed in and out softly. A soft amber glow filled the room from the small sphere hovering above her head. Beneath her hand, a piece of paper rested, looking as though it had just been printed.

A shadow appeared in the corner. Kolora smirked when she saw the sleeping Leoti.

"No wonder your security magic was low tonight," she said. "Guess you couldn't handle the stress, little sister."

Kolora strode forward and carefully took the paper out of Leoti's hand. A smile crossed her face.

"So," she whispered. "You've discovered the last Kyaldian."

Kolora tucked the note back under Leoti's hand and backed away.

"Sleep tight, little sister," she whispered. "Hope your dreams are sweet because when you wake up its going to be a nightmare."

Kolora vanished.

Kendra woke up suddenly, senses tingling. With a swift movement, she rolled out of bed into a fighting crouch. She unnoticeably slid a knife out of her sleeve.

There was someone in her room.

Kendra had honed her fighting abilities for years since she had been harassed in first grade. She had trained under an elven Tracker from a dimension called Shannara and her senses were almost as sharp as an elf's.

Nothing happened.

Kendra could feel the presence close by. Why were they hesitating? She held her stance, waiting. Still, nothing happened. Had she been wrong?

"Are you going to drop the martial arts stance anytime soon?"

Kendra whirled. A woman was leaning against the wall, raven black hair glinting in the early morning light.

"Who are you, how did you get in here and what do you want?" Kendra said, raising the dagger higher.

"My name is Kolora, I teleported in here and as for what I want," the woman said. "Well, I'll let you figure that out."

She raised her palm and Kendra blacked out.

Dren opened his eyes, his head buzzing like it was full of wasps. He groaned and rolled over in bed, trying to ignore it. But the buzzing continued. Dren groaned again and sat up. He rubbed his temples, hoping the buzzing would stop. Instead, it got worse.

What was going on?

His Eversphere heated up and Dren was suddenly alert. He paid closer attention to the buzzing, trying to figure out where it was coming from. The window!

Dren got of bed and looked out the window. The second he did, something big crashed through the window and threw him back.

"In the name of Blue," he swore.

Kendra was standing in his room. But she looked different. She was wearing a short purple dress with laces up the sides and tall boots. Long purple gloves reached up to her elbows and she held a long black and purple staff. But what really surprised Dren was the big black dragon wings and the long spade-tipped dragon tail.

"Kendra, you're a Kyaldian?" Dren said.

Then he noticed Kendra's blank eyes.

Oh no.

"Ribbon…" Kendra started in a hollow voice.

Dren ducked past her and vaulted out the window. He had to get her away from here before she caused damage! Kendra followed Dren through the window.

"Great Blue!" he swore. "Kyalda Wind! METAMORPHOSIS!"

He transformed and took off into the air. Kendra followed him.

"Ribbon… Shadow Assault."

The attack clipped Dren's wing and nearly sent him out of the sky. He managed to regain his balance and flew faster. Kendra was falling behind. He had known she would; he was an air element and she appeared to be shadow. Air elements were much faster than other elements.

Dren swerved underneath a blast of shadows. Great Kyalda, where were Tarb and the others? His Kyalda Pendant blinked.

"_Dren? What's going on; why have you transformed?"_

Leoti's voice came into his head.

"_Leoti?"_

"_Yes, it's me! What's going on?"_

"_Kendra's a Kyaldian!"_ said Dren.

"_I knew that! Why have you both transformed? Is it Kolora?"_

"_No, it's Kendra! She's been mind-wiped or something and she's attacking me!"_

Dren thought he heard Leoti say something in another language—probably a swear a some sort.

"_Okay, I'm contacting the other Kyaldians. Try to keep Kendra away from where you'll be seen."_

"_Sorry Leoti, but I think it's too late."_

They were soaring over Kyoto. Kendra was still shooting shadows at him and Dren breathed a sigh of relief for the silence of shadows and the early morning. No one was awake and the attacks weren't loud enough to wake them. But they were headed downtown to where people were up this early and the buildings were taller.

Dren slowed, trying to decide what to do. That was a mistake.

The shadows hit him directly this time. He spiraled toward the ground, desperately trying to make his wings work. The ground was coming up too fast!

"Ribbon Vine Strike!"

Vines shot from the ground and grabbed Dren, stopping his fall and placing him gently on the ground.

"Are you okay?" asked Tarb.

Dren nodded.

"Thanks for that save," he said. "I thought I was a goner."

"So did I," said Orla, blowing the hair from her eyes.

"Kendra-oneechan is a Kyaldian?" said Tanya.

Dren nodded again.

"I think she's been mind-wiped," he said.

"Leoti said Kolora has that ability," said Orla. "It's a definite possibility."

Shadows hit the ground between the group.

"Right, less talking, more figuring out what do to," said Dren. "Let's split up. Keep open contact."

The others nodded and took off.

Kendra hesitated, as though unsure who to follow. Dren flew ahead, then made a slow wide turn, waiting to see what Kendra would do. He thought he saw her shudder and wince, but then it was gone and she darted after him.

Dren dodged her charge and she overshot past him, crashing through the window of a building.

"Dang," Dren swore.

There were shouts inside the building as he zoomed through the window after Kendra. She was still on the ground when he landed inside with the others. She slowly started to get up.

"So what do we do?" Tarb asked.

Dren shook his head.

"We can't fight her," said Orla. "She is not acting of her own free will."

"But we can't just let her attack us!" said Tanya.

"She is one of our kind," said Orla.

Dren didn't know what to do. Orla was right, but so was Tanya. He took a deep breath and looked up at Kendra. He took a step forward. Tanya grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?" she said.

"Trust me," said Dren.

Tanya bit her lip but she let go. Dren walked closer to Kendra.

"Kendra."

Kendra started to raise her staff and then stopped. Dren was sure he saw the tiniest flicker of recognition in her eyes. She winced and shut her eyes. The staff fell from her hands and she clutched her head, trembling as though with effort.

"Get—out—of—my—head!" she said.

"We have to help her!" said Dren.

Orla was the first to react. She flared with silver light and a rope of energy surged to Kendra, fueling her. Dren flared with white light. Tarb was next, glowing with green. Tanya finished the connection, sending blue energy to Kendra.

"_Hold on Kendra!" _said Dren.

"_You can do it oneechan!"_ said Tanya.

"_Push her out Kendra!" _shouted Orla.

"_Go Kendra!" _thought Tarb.

Dren thought he could hear Kendra answer back, but it was muffled by the buzzing he had heard before. He suddenly realized that the buzzing was the spell Kolora has used.

"_We have to get rid of the spell!" _said Dren.

"_Got it," _said Orla.

Dren felt Orla's line of energy intensify, now being used to flush out Kolora's presence. Dren fed some of his energy to Orla, helping her get rid of the spell.

They were on the verge of breaking it when something distracted Dren. Or course, how could you not be distracted when someone hit you in the stomach and pinned you to the ground?

Kolora stood with one foot on Dren's stomach.

"Nice try, Windy," she said. "You're more powerful than I thought. You almost broke my memory spell."

"We still will!" said Dren.

"What, you mean the little moon wraith?" said Kolora. "She's already out of the running, Windy."

Orla was on the ground, gasping for breath. Tarb was struggling with his own vines and Tanya was frozen in place as though she was a statue.

"Orla! Tarb! Tanya!" Dren shouted.

Kolora increased the pressure on his stomach and cut off Dren's air.

"Now it's your turn," Kolora said, facing Dren. "You were always so easy to trap."

Dren couldn't get free. A fiery sword appeared in Kolora's hand.

"Bye-bye Windy."

"RIBBON SHADOW ASSAULT!"

Shadows hit Kolora and threw across the room. Dren rolled to his feet and whipped around. Kendra stood there, panting and gripping her staff.

"That was for possessing me," she said.

"You're all right!" said Dren.

Kendra smiled.

"It wasn't easy, I can tell you that," she said.

Tanya blinked and unfroze. Orla managed to take a breath and Tarb's vines retreated.

"That means we have all the Kyaldians now!" said Tanya.

"This isn't over yet," Kolora hissed.

Suddenly a kirema anima appeared in the window like a giant brown bat with a dinosaur head.

"Uh oh," said Tarb. "Is it just me, or is that thing big?"

"That thing's big," said Dren.

"Then let's kick some butt!" said Tanya. "Ribbon Crystal Counter!"

Blue energy shot at the kirema anima. The anima opened it mouth and swallowed the attack like it was nothing.

"Eek!" said Tanya, ducking as the creature sent the attack hurtling back.

"Try that on for size, little Kyaldians!" said Kolora, laughing.

Orla glared at the anima and charged.

"Ribbon Moonshine Surge!" she shouted.

The anima swallowed the attack and sent it back again just like it had before. Orla barely got out of the way.

"Ribbon Shadow Assault!" shouted Kendra.

The same thing happened again, but this time the attack hit Kendra in the wing and spun her in circles.

"This isn't working!" said Dren.

"Really?" said Orla sarcastically.

"We have to find another way to defeat it," said Dren. "Our abilities aren't strong enough."

An idea sparked in his mind.

"We need to combine our power," he said. "Like we did to help Kendra."

Orla nodded.

"Let's do it," said Kendra.

"Let's beat this thing!" said Tanya.

"The sooner the better," said Tarb.

Tanya and Tarb started glowing with their respective colors, the two colors melding together. Orla added her light to the mix, followed by Kendra. The four sent their energy to Dren, who started glowing bright with the multicolored energy laced with his own white energy.

There was so much power! He could feel his friends energy pulsing through him. He blinked.

There were words appearing in his mind.

He held up his Wind Sais.

"Wing Sword!" he shouted.

The sais transformed, melding together to form a long sword. The hilt was carved to look like two outstretched wings with a golden twister in the center.

"Ribbon…"

Rainbow energy gathered around the tips of the sais.

"Wing Strike!"

A rainbow Feathered Dragon burst from the tips of his sais and the rainbow energy burst around the room. The kirema anima defused and Kolora vanished. The room was silent for a minute.

Orla nudged Dren.

"We have a problem," she said.

In a split second, Dren noticed the camera filming them and the room filled with people staring at them. Then everyone started talking at once.

"What the heck is going on here?"

"Who are you?"

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"The Kyaldians are back!"

"That was a kirema anima!"

"Who was the creepy lady?"

"Where did you come from?"

"Are you really the Kyaldians?"

Dren felt overwhelmed.

"What are we going to do?" Orla whispered. "If we just leave, then people will get suspicious!"

"Are you saying we should say something?" said Dren.

"I'm saying you should say something!" said Orla.

"Me?"

"You're our fearless leader," Orla hissed.

Dren swallowed and turned to the camera.

"Yes," he said. "We are the Kyaldians."

On an impulse, he smiled.

"You can leave protecting the world up to us!"

Far away, Leoti slapped herself on the forehead.

"That's just like him," said Mairead, laughing.

Starfireelf15's comments: WOOHOO GO KYALDIANS! KICK SOME BUTT! Oh. You're reading this aren't you? -_-' Well I thought that was fun! Tanya is so cool! So what do you think of Kolora's mind wiping ability? That will come into play again later, just you wait. The results will stun you. Okay, see you at the next episode: Feelings I Can't Say.


	10. Chapter 9: Feelings I Can't Say

Dren yawned for the third time that morning.

"You look tired, Dren," said Bryn.

"I think I stayed up too late last night," Dren lied.

Bryn glanced at the group.

"It looks like half of you stayed up too late," he said.

Dren avoided Bryn's gaze.

It was true that he wasn't the only one who was tired. Kendra looked dead on her feet. Tarb was yawning even more than Dren and Orla was leaning against a tree half asleep. Even Tanya had dark circles under her eyes.

"_How could we not be tired after yesterday," _Orla grumbled in Dren's head.

"_Yeah but Bryn doesn't know that," _said Dren.

"_He might figure it out," _said Tarb. _"It doesn't take a genius to see the resemblance between our regular forms and our Kyaldian forms."_

Dren had to admit Tarb was right. It wasn't like they looked that much different transformed.

"We should get to school or we're going to be late," said Mairead. "Come on."

Bryn sighed.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm being left out?" he said.

"I've got the exact same feeling," said Kokoro.

Tarb and Tanya left the group to go to their own school while the other headed on to the high school.

Dren and Mairead headed down the hall to dimensional studies.

"Looks like we're the first ones here," said Dren.

"Ah, Fallinor-san. Nesbitt-san. You're early."

Erinda was sitting at the front desk, wings glittering in the sun.

"Quite the show you put on yesterday Fallinor-san," she said winking.

"Oh. Yeah," said Dren.

He had almost forgotten that Erinda was part of the group that knew about the Kyaldians.

"I never see you at Leoti's house," he said. "Not even when she's holding a meeting. Where do you go?"

"Oh, here and there," said Erinda, smiling. "I like to keep Leoti up to date on other things that are going on."

Dren wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but he let it go because a shy-looking water spirit came into the room with a question for Erinda.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. Then at lunch, things started happening.

"Hey Chloe!" someone shouted past him as he stood in the lunch line. "Did you watch T.V. yesterday?"

"Totally!" another girl shouted back. "That was amazing!"

_I wonder what they're talking about, _Dren thought.

Two boys in front of him were arguing.

"It's all just a stunt to make everyone feel safer," one said.

"Are you kidding? Not even special effects can make something look that real!"

"Everyone's terrified right now. The government is trying to calm us down."

"I'm telling you, this was the real thing!"

Behind him, two girls were talking excitedly.

"Did you catch any of it?"

"The whole thing!"

"Lucky! I just got the end of it!"

"I heard they're going to replay it tonight plus they're getting interviews from the witnesses!"

"I totally have to see that!"

Dren still couldn't figure out what everyone was talking about when he got to the table.

"Have you heard what everyone's talking about?" Orla hissed.

"I heard a bunch of people being overexcited about something but I couldn't figure out what," said Dren.

Orla rolled her eyes.

"Listen!" she said.

Dren glanced at some of the other tables. Everyone seemed to be talking about the same thing.

"Were you watching television yesterday?"

"Totally awesome!"

"Much better than the cartoons they usually have on."

"Do you think it was real?'

"Of course it wasn't."

"It was too!"

"The silver one was really pretty."

"That little girl in blue? Totally the cutest thing ever!"

"What about that guy in white? Wasn't he hot?"

And suddenly Dren knew what they were talking about. He flushed at the last comment and stared at his plate.

"What are you blushing about?" asked Bryn , sitting down next to him. "Did Mairead finally ask you out?"

"No!" said Dren and Mairead at the same time, both of them blushing.

"Darn, I thought that there was still hope for you two," said Kendra, grinning.

"_Kendra did you hear?" _Dren asked.

"_Yeah. Everyone's talking about us."_

"_Some people don't think we're real,"_ Orla said irritably.

"_I think I made a huge mess," _said Dren.

"_I was the one who told you to say something," _Orla said. _"So its partially my fault."_

They broke the connection. Dren sighed and tried to tune out all of the conversation around him.

"Hey Dren. Did you watch T.V. yesterday?" asked Bryn casually.

Too casually.

"Uh, no," said Dren. "I was doing homework."

"Mm-hm," said Bryn. "What about you Kendra?"

"Nope," said Kendra. "I was fencing with Tam."

Tam was Kendra's combat trainer; an elf from the Four Lands.

"So nobody at this table watched T.V. yesterday?" said Bryn.

"I did," said Rikuto. "Kokoro did too."

Kokoro nodded.

Kendra seemed to get annoyed by her boyfriend's suspicions. Before Dren noticed she had moved she had catapulted a spoonful of spaghetti in his face.

"I hate it when you avoid saying what you're trying to say," she said. "Just come out with whatever it you're thinking."

Bryn picked the spaghetti out of his hair.

"Okay. I think you guys are the Kyaldians," he said. "It doesn't take a genius to see the similarities."

The three Kyaldians glanced at each other, then came to a wordless agreement.

"We are the Kyaldians, Bryn," said Dren.

Bryn broke into a grin.

"Finally! I just wanted to hear somebody say it."

Dren blinked.

"You don't think it's weird?" he asked.

"Course not," said Bryn. "It's awesome!"

"It's just better being in the loop than out of it," said Rikuto, winking.

Bryn ruffled Dren's hair.

"I just like to know when my best friend is a superhero saving the world," he said.

"Don't forget, we're your friends," said Kokoro, smiling.

"And friends stick together, even when their other friends are out battling mutant monsters," said Rikuto.

"Thanks guys," said Dren.

Kendra sighed.

"Bryn, don't ever try to find out secrets in a roundabout way like that again," she said. "Or I'll be forced to shoot the chili sauce at you next."

"Ouch," said Bryn, grinning. "Don't worry, I won't."

Suddenly the ground shook, throwing food and drinks to the ground and making a huge mess. People started screaming and shouting. Dren's EverSphere turned red and flashed in and out with heat.

"What is that?" said Bryn.

Leoti ran over to them.

"We have trouble," she said. "Kolora is doing something outside the city."

"Doing what, exactly?" asked Dren.

"She planted giant kirema trees and they're shaking the ground, not to mention they're poisoning the air," said Leoti.

She turned to Bryn, Rikuto and Kokoro.

"Bryn, Rikuto, Kokoro," she said. "Get everyone outside; this building might collapse!"

Bryn winked.

"You can count on us," he said.

The three ran to the other groups and instantly started herding them outside.

"I'll find Tarb and Tanya at their school," said Leoti. "Dren, Orla, Kendra, you go ahead. Mairead, you come with me. I won't be able to contact Dren from far away and I want to stay in contact from the tree house."

Mairead nodded.

"Dren and I will keep an open connection," she said.

Dren nodded.

"Let's do this!" he said.

"Kyalda Moon!"

"Kyalda Shadow!"

"Kyalda Wind!"

"METAMORPHOSIS!"

The teleported outside the walls of the city. Five giant oak trees stood in a perfect circle, surrounding a sixth tree directly in the center. Dren could instantly tell that the air was polluted. Tanya and Tarb appeared next to them.

"Leoti told us," said Tarb.

"It's harder to breath," Dren said.

"I can tell," said Tanya.

"Those trees are huge!" said Tarb.

"Gawk later," said Orla. "We have to get rid of them."

"Right," said Dren.

Meav and Sardon were already there. Meav was kneeling at the base of one tree, furred hand on the bark. She was murmuring under her breath rapidly. A few seconds later she stood up and swore in a language Dren had never heard before.

"D'Arvit," she said, hissing angrily. "It's not working!"

Sardon turned to the trees, fan in hand. Lighting shot at the closet tree. There was a huge explosion and Dren was sure the tree had been destroyed. But then the smoke cleared and the tree was still there.

"Great Blue," Sardon swore.

The Kyaldians ran over to them.

"What's the situation?" Dren asked.

"The poison in the air is rising too rapidly," said Meav. "If it keeps up at this rate then all life within a three hundred miles radius will be wiped out."

"WHAT?"

"I'd say you have about…"

Meav paused, thinking about it. Erinda appeared.

"Maybe ten minutes before it reaches an unalterable state," Erinda finished.

"Let's split up," said Dren. "We'll try and get the first five all at once."

The others nodded and they ran in different directions. Dren sprinted for one of the farther trees, bringing up his sais.

He skidded to a stop in front of one of the huge oaks.

"Ribbon—"

Black fire struck Dren's hands, making him drop his sais. They fell to the ground and vanished. He whirled, calling his sais up again and searching for Kolora. He couldn't see her.

"I don't have time for this Kolora!" he shouted.

"I know," her voice replied. "That's why I'm doing it."

Dren decided to ignore her and focus on the tree. He raised his sais and got ready to strike.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Kolora.

"I'm sure you wouldn't," Dren said.

"If you attack that tree, your precious little girlfriend's gonna die."

Dren whirled. Kolora was standing behind him. She was holding Mairead tightly, a thin blade pressed against her neck.

"Put her down Kolora!" Dren shouted.

"Put your weapons down," said Kolora.

"Dren, don't listen to her!" Mairead shouted. "Destroy that tree!"

—How did she catch you—

—I was stupid, Dren. I didn't pay attention and Leoti had her back to me—

—Don't worry, I'll find a way to save you—

—Just destroy the tree Dren! It doesn't matter what happens to me—

—Yes it does!—

"Put her down Kolora!" said Dren.

"Drop your sais," Kolora countered.

"Don't you dare drop those Dren!" said Mairead.

"Shut up," Kolora said, increasing the pressure on the blade.

A thin line of blood bloomed on Mairead's neck. Dren froze.

"Put them down," Kolora said. "And I'll put her down."

Dren stood there, breathing heavily. How many minutes had it been? Were they past the line where they could stop the poison? Had the others destroyed their trees?

"Put them down Windy," Kolora hissed.

Mairead's eyes were wide and terrified. And Dren knew he couldn't lose her.

His sais fell from his hands and clattered to the ground.

"There's a good boy," Kolora said.

She shoved Mairead to the side and shot black fire at Dren. Dren slammed against the tree. Vines shot from around it and bound him to the tree.

"Dren!" Mairead screamed.

"Shut up," said Kolora.

She hit Mairead with the black fire. Mairead screamed. The attack threw her out of Dren's line of vision.

"MAIREAD!"

"You shut up too, Windy," said Kolora.

The vines tightened and Dren gasped for breath.

"Let me go."

"No," said Kolora. "That would be no fun at all."

Dren pulled against the vines again.

"So, now that you can't do anything," said Kolora. "I can decide how I want to get rid of you."

A strange feeling came over Dren. A sort of darkness was covering his eyes—but he was completely conscious. A light appeared at the end of the darkness. Inside the light was the blurred form of a girl. He thought he heard her talking. He caught a name—Kish—and her angry tone. There was a flash of light and Dren got the impression of pink and cat ears. The picture changed and he saw the Blue Nymph.

Wait a minute; it wasn't the Blue Nymph—the hair was too short and pulled into a ponytail. Suddenly the pictures were gone and the vines holding him to the tree fell away. Someone caught him as he stumbled forward.

He looked up and saw Blue Nymph.

"You came!" said Dren.

She smiled slightly.

"You again," said Kolora. "Why do you always interfere?"

Blue Nymph turned. Kolora charged her recklessly. Blue Nymph fluidly pulled her sword from nowhere and blocked the blow easily. It was like she knew all of Kolora's attacks—before Kolora even knew them!

"Dren!"

Dren looked up. Orla, Tarb and Kendra all ran over to him.

"Are you okay?" asked Orla.

"Yeah," said Dren. "Where's Tanya?"

Orla looked around.

"She was here a second ago," she said.

"We can't destroy the trees," said Kendra. "There's a block around them."

"No!" said Dren.

"We have to find Tanya!" said Tarb.

Suddenly Dren saw her. She was standing in front of the giant tree in the center.

"Tanya!" Dren shouted.

Tanya didn't answer. Dren ran over to her with the others.

"Tanya?"

Tanya seemed to be hearing something else entirely.

"It's calling me," she whispered.

"What?"

Dren had never seen Tanya's face so serious.

"Tanya?" said Tarb. "Hey, Synoch to Tanya."

Tanya didn't answer. She started walking towards the tree.

"It's there," she said softly.

"Tanya wait!" Orla shouted.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Tarb.

"Is Kolora doing something?" asked Kendra.

"She's too busy," said Dren. "I don't know what—"

Suddenly the tree erupted into white light. Dren closed his eyes against the flare that nearly blinded him. When he opened them again, Tanya was floating at the top of the tree. A bubble like thing was floating in front of her.

"What is that?" said Dren.

Tanya reached out and grabbed the glowing bubble. It grew into a long staff topped with two wings that framed a center base. The bubble set itself in the base and turned into a crystal. Tanya smiled.

"Ribbon…"

Bubbles flew from the staff.

"Kyalda Drops!"

Pale blue bubbles swirled from the tip of the staff, swirling into the air like rain. When the bubbles touched the trees, they popped and blue energy spread from them.

"What's it doing?" said Orla.

"It's turning the trees…to crystal," said Kendra.

"Whoa," said Tarb.

The trees had changed completely to crystal. The leaves chimed softly in the breeze like wind chimes. The trunks glowed softly, reflecting the setting sun off of their now blue bark.

"This is amazing!" said Dren. "What was that stuff?"

"It's Kyalda," said Meav, coming up behind them. "Also known as Miracle Water, Aoi Kiseki and Mew Aqua."

"Kyalda?" said Dren.

"It's an ancient power," said Meav. "One of the few powers to survive unaltered from Old Earth."

"But what does it do?" Dren asked.

Meav shrugged.

"It changes," she said. "I've studied it for years, and I discovered that it pretty much does whatever it can do through the person who finds it."

"I get it," said Orla.

Everyone looked at her.

"Tanya is Kyalda Crystal," she said. "She can reflect things like crystal and create crystal shields. The Kyalda came out through the only way it could through Tanya—by turning things to crystal."

Tanya landed, still clutching the staff.

"I did it!" she said, running over to them. "I saved the day!"

Kendra smiled and scooped Tanya up into a hug.

"You go Tanya!" she said.

"That was awesome!" said Tarb.

"I've never seen so much power," said Orla.

"Aren't the bubbles pretty?" said Tanya.

The blue bubbles were still floating around; bursting occasionally with rainbow sparks. The staff in Tanya's hand glowed and shrank into a tiny blue key-like charm.

"Well, we should head back now," said Meav. "Great job."

Suddenly Dren remembered.

"Mairead!"

He ran off toward the tree. Where was she? He hadn't seen where she went—

"Dren! I'm over here!"

Dren darted off toward the voice. Mairead was behind the tree, pushing herself up by using the trunk.

"I thought I sprained my ankle," she said. "But it wasn't anything serious."

She blinked.

"Are you okay? You're breathing really hard."

Dren was breathing heavily. He had been scared—no, he had been terrified that Mairead was dead. He sank to his knees.

"I was so worried," he murmured.

"Dren?" Mairead said.

"It's all my fault you got involved in this," he said. "If it wasn't for me, Kolora would leave you alone."

"Dren, it's okay," said Mairead. "I'm alright—"

"Yeah but what about next time!" Dren said. "And the time after that!"

He was trembling now.

"I just don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Mairead had stopped trying to comfort him. She looked almost—what? Shocked? Sad? Was she about to cry?

"Dren…"

She walked slowly over to him and knelt in front of him. Dren tried to keep the tears from falling. The terror of losing Mairead was still coursing through him. The very thought of her being gone was still fresh in his mind.

"Dren…"

Dren looked up. Mairead put one hand on his shoulder. She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. Dren froze for a second, then kissed her back. It felt good—no more than good, it felt right. Dren could feel Mairead's body close to his; feel her heartbeat going faster than normal.

They held there for a long time, neither knowing how long the kiss lasted. It could have been seconds, it could have been hours.

Then suddenly, Mairead broke away. They stared at each other for a minute.

"I'm sorry," said Mairead.

She stood up and ran. Dren still sat on the ground, wondering what had just happened.

Starfireelf15's comments: Best chapter EVER! Why is this the best chapter? First, the Kyaldians are a huge thing now. Second, Tanya's crystal trees are amazing (there's a guy I know who hates the word amazing; it's funny cause when you say it he gets mad ^^). Then of course there's the kiss. I almost didn't put the kiss in there, but I'm really glad I did. So far, that's my favorite scene in the whole series! Okay, I'm not getting enough people reading this, so I need everyone who reads this to tell their friends about it so that more people can enjoy it. Even if they don't have Quizilla accounts tell them to go online and read these! Thanks!


	11. Chapter 10: Power of Love

"Dren? Wake up call!"

Dren blinked and looked up at Bryn.

"Hey, is there a reason that Mairead isn't here today?" he asked. "And you, you're totally spacing out!"

"It's nothing," said Dren.

But it was everything.

_Mairead put one hand on his shoulder. She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. Dren froze for a second, then kissed her back. It felt good—no more than good, it felt right. Dren could feel Mairead's body close to his; feel her heartbeat going faster than normal…_

Bryn smacked a hand against the table.

"You're doing it again," he said. "Seriously, do you know where Mairead is?"

"I heard she called in sick," said Orla.

"Mairead's never sick," said Kendra.

"She wouldn't lie to get out of school," said Kokoro. "She's too studious."

"Unless she was trying to avoid something or someone," said Kendra.

Dren didn't say anything. He could still feel her kiss. Why had she run away afterward? Why did he feel so weird about it now?

_We're best friends, _he thought numbly.

He stared down at his food.

_But then why are we changing?_

He looked around the lunchroom, hoping to see Mairead.

_I want to see you Mairead._

The hallway was silent. Everyone had gone home for the day. Everyone, that is, except for Dren. He glanced out of the classroom and looked both ways.

"It really is empty," he said.

He had hoped Mairead was here somewhere. He sighed and stepped out into the hallway.

"Dren?"

He turned around. Mairead was standing in the hallway.

"Mairead."

They watched each other, neither sure of what to say.

"Dren I have to tell you something," said Mairead.

"I have to tell you something," said Dren at the same time.

They both stopped.

"You first," they said at the same time.

They stopped again, both of them blushing. Dren didn't know what to say anymore. They hadn't seen each other since their little freak out, and now… How did he really feel about her now?

Suddenly black fire burst out of a classroom door. Mairead screamed, the fire searing past her.

"MAIREAD!"

The fire condensed into tight ropes and grabbed Mairead, pulling her into the classroom. Dren ran after her into the classroom.

"KYALDA WIND METAMOPHOSES!"

Dren transformed and charged into the classroom.

"Kolora! Put her down!"

"You made it just in time for the show," said Kolora.

"Why are you doing this!" Dren shouted.

"No particular reason. I just want to make you suffer before you die."

Dren gritted his teeth.

"Leave Mairead out of this!" Dren shouted.

"It's more fun attacking people who don't fight back," said Kolora. "Now shut up and watch your girlfriend slowly be burned to death."

"NO!"

A wall of fire came up around Mairead, unconscious on the ground. Dren froze. He couldn't use his powers or the fire would get bigger.

"Leave her alone!" Dren shouted.

"Mairead!" Dren shouted. "Mairead wake up!"

Kolora appeared in front of him and grabbed his chin.

"You really love her don't you?" she said. "You're such a fool."

Dren slapped her hand.

"Stop it!" he said.

"No," said Kolora.

The fire behind Kolora lowered slightly as her concentration wavered. Dren darted past her and jumped over the flaming wall.

"Windy, come back!" Kolora shouted.

"Mairead!"

The fire was closing in around them. Dren stood close to Mairead, trying to think. He had to get them out of here! He could feel the teleportation blocks around the school. There was no way to escape that way.

"Give it up Windy and let her die," said Kolora.

An image hit Dren suddenly.

_He saw the girl in pink lying on the ground, unmoving. Her hand rested in the hand of a boy. He sat up._

"_Ichigo, it's time to wake up," he said._

_He picked her up and her head fell back limply._

_Suddenly the image changed and Dren saw the four other Kyaldians lying on the ground, unmoving and not breathing._

"NOOO!"

_Mairead was lying before him, dead and lifeless._

"NOOO!"

White light burst up around him.

"I won't let you!" he shouted.

Kolora jumped, fear in her eyes.

"I won't let you take away the people I love!" Dren screamed.

The light intensified and the whole world whited out.

When Dren woke up, Mairead was staring into his face with huge eyes.

"Dren!"

She scooped him into a hug.

"Mairead! Not breathing!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

She pulled away. They stared at each other for a while.

"Thank you for saving me again," Mairead said, avoiding meeting Dren's eyes.

"Of course I saved you," said Dren. "I—"

He stopped. Their eyes met, and just as quickly they looked away again.

_What's going on?_

Kolora sat in the between world.

"How could that boy have so much power?" she muttered.

"_NOOO!"_

_White light burst up around Dren._

"_I won't let you! I won't let you take away the people I love!"_

_The light intensified, pushing outwards. The black fire around him disintegrated. The light surged toward Kolora, pushing her away and back into the between dimension… _

Kolora bared her fangs in frustration. She had been this close to destroying that little brat. How had he managed to get that strong?

"I'll get them," she said. "I'll get them both."

Suddenly the dimension turned blue and a bubble appeared in the center. Kolora turned to it.

"I'm disappointed," said an echoing voice.

"Of course you are," said Kolora. "Seriously, Toya, you should be a bit more patient."

Kolora smirked when she felt Deep Blue's displeasure. He hated it when she called him Toya.

"Just because we're siblings doesn't mean you can continue to act like this," Deep Blue hissed.

Kolora rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I understand you're more powerful than I am," said Kolora sarcastically. "I _am _the oldest, Toya."

"If you keep up this attitude," said Deep Blue. "I'm afraid I'll have to replace you for a while."

Kolora glared at the bubble.

"You cannot be serious," said Kolora. "Ren and Yuuto are idiots."

"Did I hear someone call my name?"

The dimension returned to normal and Kolora turned. A Cyniclon-like person with long brown hair in a ponytail leaned against a pillar, eyes closed.

"Ren!" Kolora spat.

Ren opened his eyes and revealed the swamp green color of his eyes.

"Yes, it's me," he said. "It's also the one that's going to succeed where you couldn't."

Kolora glared at him.

"You're just too aggressive," said another voice.

Kolora glanced to the side. A short Cyniclon-like person with gray hair and beetle black eyes stood there holding a dagger in his hand. He didn't meet Kolora's glare because he was too busy tossing the dagger from hand to hand.

"Seriously, you should calm down sometimes Kolora."

Kolora snarled.

"Push down that banshee half," said Ren. "You don't have a choice in the matter. We're taking over."

Kolora glared at them both.

Starfireelf15's comments: Dren is powerful! TAKE THAT KOLORA! MUHAHAHA! But what do you think about the weird atmosphere between Dren and Mairead? I know, everyone out there is going "Kish and Ichigo forever!" Well get used to it, Ichigo is in love with Masaya, so I did Dren and favor by letting him fall in love with Mairead! Oh yeah, and then there's Ren and Yuuto. Notice how in the story I said they were Cyniclon-like? Well they're not Cyniclons… More revealed in the next episode: Bubbles Again.


	12. Chapter 11: Bubbles Again

"It's been pretty quiet this week, hasn't it?" said Orla.

Dren nodded.

"Nothing from Kolora in seven days. I think she's hit a record," he said.

Tarb laughed. For some reason, Tanya looked serious. Which couldn't be good.

"Does anyone else have a bad feeling?" she asked.

"No," said Kendra. "What kind of bad feeling?"

"Well," said Tanya. "I—I had a nightmare last night."

Tarb turned to her.

"Is that why you were freaking out in your sleep last night?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Tanya.

"What was the dream about?" asked Orla.

"Well," said Tanya, biting her lip. "Everything was dark and I saw Mairead, standing there. I think she was scared."

Dren glanced at Mairead, who glanced at him. They both looked away again, blushing.

"Then what?"

"Then there was another girl with strawberry blond hair," said Tanya. "She was standing with Leoti and talking. Then I saw two Cyniclons I've never seen before."

"What did they look like?" asked Kendra.

"One was a little taller than Leoti with swamp green eyes and long light brown hair in a ponytail," said Tanya. "The other was about my height with gray hair and black eyes."

She blinked.

"And Kolora was there. She didn't look very happy when she saw the other two Cyniclons."

"Hmm," said Kendra. "Well, let's keep it in mind. Anyway, wasn't Leoti expecting us about now?"

"Right," said Dren. "Any ideas on what she's calling us about?"

"None," said Orla.

Dren climbed up the tree house ladder and pulled himself onto the platform. After the others came up he knocked on the door. Leoti opened it instantly.

"You're late," she said.

"Sorry," said Dren, rolling his eyes.

"I don't think ten seconds counts as late," said Orla, peering at the sundial next to the door.

Leoti sighed.

"Well come in," she said.

Dren walked in with the others.

"Hello," said Anzu, jumping down from the table.

"Hey Anzu!" said Tanya.

She scooped him up and hugged him. Anzu sweat dropped.

"So what's up?" asked Dren.

Meav slipped into the room in a cat form and changed to normal. She immediately began to lick her furred wrist.

"We found a Kyalda signal a few minutes ago," she said.

"You did?" said Orla. "Where?"

"That's the thing," said Leoti. "It keeps moving and changing direction."

"Maybe something's carrying it?" asked Tarb.

"Highly unlikely," said Meav. "Kyalda can kill someone too close to it if they don't have special powers."

Dren stared up at the ceiling.

"So then it might be moving by itself?" he said.

"I don't think it can do that," said Leoti.

She glanced at Meav. Meav stopped licking herself and stretched.

"Not possible," she said. "Kyalda is an inanimate power, it can't move by itself."

"So basically we have to wait until an answer presents itself," Dren sighed.

There was a loud knock on the door. Everyone froze.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Meav hissed.

Leoti shook her head. She reached under the table and slid out a sword.

There was another knock, followed by a short rhythm knocked out on the wood. Then silence. Then there was a frustrated sigh.

"Oh come on Leoti! I know you're in there!"

Leoti's eyes widened.

"That voice…" she said. "I haven't heard that voice since—"

The door blasted open with a puff of pink smoke. There was coughing on the other side.

"I keep forgetting I'm allergic to this stuff," the voice said.

Someone stepped through the smoke. It was a girl. She looked about the same age as Leoti but a few inches taller. Her hair was long and strawberry blond and her eyes were bright green. She was wearing baggy pants and pink t-shirt.

"Chantilly!" said Leoti.

She jumped to her feet and ran over to the girl. Chantilly grinned and hugged Leoti.

"Great to see you too!" she said. "It's been like five months."

She glanced at the room.

"Oh, did I walk in on something?" she said, looking at Dren and the others.

Leoti pulled out of the hug.

Dren turned to Tanya. Her face had paled. Then this _was_ the girl from Tanya's dream.

"Don't worry about it," said Leoti. "Where have you been?"

"Here and there," said Chantilly, waving her hand vaguely. "What about you? I haven't seen you since that huge fight—"

Chantilly stopped when Leoti gave her a look. Dren blinked. What was it that Leoti didn't want them to hear? Suddenly he noticed the red heart jewel hanging around Chantilly's neck. And it had the same feeling as an Eversphere. Dren caught Orla's eyes. So they had both felt the same thing.

Chantilly was still jabbering away about different things. Suddenly there was a huge explosion outside. Chantilly stopped and walked quickly to the window.

"D'Arvit, I thought I lost them!" she said.

"What? Lost who?" said Leoti. "Oh no, don't tell me you're being chased again?"

"You know me so well," said Chantilly.

Leoti smacked her forehead. Dren walked over to the door and opened it, peering outside. Tanya was right next to him.

"Dren," she said. "I think it's them."

Dren turned to her.

"Them?" he said. "As in the people from your dream?"

"Yeah," she said.

She touched the key charm around her neck. Maybe the Kyalda was making Tanya feel things differently? The key seemed to have replaced the Eversphere…

"DUCK!" shouted Chantilly.

She knocked Dren out of the way just as a bolt of green lightning hit the platform in front of them.

_Wait a minute! Kolora doesn't use green energy!_

His thoughts were cut off by Chantilly's yelp. Dren rolled onto his feet and saw Chantilly lifted in the air. Something pink was slowly detaching itself from her…

A pink ball shot from Chantilly and she collapsed to the ground. Her skin had turned gray and she wasn't breathing. The heart jewel she had been wearing clattered to the ground.

"Chantilly!" Leoti shouted.

She ran outside.

"No! They've taken her spirit!" said Leoti.

Dren straightened.

"Where are you Kolora!" he shouted. "Stop hiding!"

"So you're the Kyaldians!"

Dren blinked. He didn't know that voice. He turned and looked up at the roof of the house. A short Cyniclon with gray hair and black eyes sat on the roof, idly tossing a dagger from hand to hand. Another Cyniclon was standing behind him, with long light brown hair tied back in a ponytail and swamp green eyes. They were the people from Tanya's dream.

"Hey Ren, which one is the one that Kolora has a crush on?" the gray haired one said.

Dren flushed.

"What the heck are you talking about?" said Orla.

"No too hard to figure out, one's too young and the rest are girls," said Ren.

He was holding Chantilly's spirit in his hand.

"Give that spirit back!" Tanya said angrily.

"Feisty, are we?" said Ren.

"Who do you think you are?" said Tarb.

The gray haired Cyniclon stood up.

"You can call me Yuuto for the short time that you're going to be alive," he said.

Dren barely noticed the dagger speeding toward Tarb.

"Watch out!" said Tanya.

She grabbed the dagger out of the air with an impossible speed.

"Whoa, how'd I do that?" she said.

"No idea," said Tarb, eyes wide. "But I'm really, really, really glad you did."

"Well, looks like we're going to do this the hard way," said Ren.

He held up Chantilly's spirit and an Infuser appeared in his other hand.

"FUSION!"

There was a flash of light and when Dren opened his eyes there was the strangest kirema anima that Dren had ever seen. It was almost human but it had huge butterfly wings and bug-like eyes.

"D'Arvit, the anima has taken over Chantilly's fairy half!" said Leoti.

"Chantilly is half fairy?" said Tanya.

"No time for questions right now!" said Orla.

"Right," said Dren. "Kyalda Wind!"

"Kyalda Vine!"

"Kyalda Crystal!"

"Kyalda Moon!"

"Kyalda Shadow!"

"METAMORPHOSIS!"

Dren took off into the sky. The anima followed him, beating dust into the air.

"Oh no, not again," said Dren.

The dust blew past him and he coughed. The poison was worse than the one at the trees! He fell from the sky and he probably would have died in impact if someone hadn't caught him.

"Blue Nymph!" he said.

Blue Nymph landed gently on the ground and set Dren down.

"Thanks!" he said.

Blue Nymph smiled and turned.

"Huh? Hey wait!"

Blue Nymph was gone. Dren blinked.

"Ribbon Vine Strike!"

"Ribbon Crystal Counter!"

"Ribbon Moonshine Surge!"

"Ribbon Shadow Assault!"

Dren shook out of his daze and ran back to join the battle. It didn't look like it was going too well.

"Ribbon Windstorm!" Dren shouted.

He blew the poison away from the others.

"Thanks," said Tanya.

"You're welcome," said Dren. "Ribbon Windstorm!"

The butterfly was blown back. It shook its head and blew poison back at them. Dren fell to his knees, coughing.

"I expected better from you guys," said Yuuto. "Considering how much trouble Kolora's been having."

He laughed. Dren coughed. Kendra suddenly opened her eyes and stood up shakily.

"Kendra?" said Dren.

"I can feel it!" she said.

Dren stood up.

"Kyalda?"

"Yeah," said Kendra.

"We'll cover for you," said Dren.

Kendra gave him a worried look.

"Go!" said Dren.

Kendra spread her great black wings and took off into the sky.

"Where do you think you're going?" said Ren.

Dren zoomed at Ren and knocked him from the sky.

"I won't let you get in her way!" he said.

"Fine, I'll kill you first," said Ren.

He pulled out two short swords and Dren jerked his sais up to block the attack. Dren jabbed toward Ren and Ren blocked it easily.

_He's good!_

Dren blocked the next strike and twisted the sword out of Ren's hand. Ren came in instantly with his other sword, swiping close to Dren's cheek. Dren pulled back and stumbled. Ren came in again, hitting Dren in the stomach with the pommel of his sword. Dren fell back. Ren raised his sword above his head for the final strike.

Dren wrenched his sais up and sent a whirlwind crashing into Ren. Ren flew back and skidded across the ground. He stood up quickly, wincing. Then he grinned.

"You're pretty good," he said. "But not good enough."

Something cold and hard grazed Dren's shoulder. He winced and fell to his knees. It shouldn't hurt this much, it was barely a scratch. Yuuto landed in front of him.

"Guess you're not immune to poison," said Yuuto. "I heard the original Kyaldians were."

Dren gasped for breath.

"Well, should I kill him now or wait for the poison to do it?" said Ren.

Wow. Déjàvu. (It reminds him of when Kolora was debating on how to kill him...)

Dren tried to stand up.

"Hey, what's that girl doing up there?" said Ren.

Dren whirled. Kendra was on the platform and the heart jewel was floating in front of her.

"Kyalda Rod!" she shouted.

A long purple staff like Tanya's appeared in her hand.

"Ribbon…"

Bubbles swirled around her.

"Kyalda Drops!"

The bubbles shot out and burst into rainbow sparkles, destroying the poison. Shadows rose up from their places and consumed the kirema anima. Its shriek was abruptly cut off, and when the shadows pulled away they left behind only the spirit and the Infuser. Anzu jumped up from nowhere and ate the Infuser. Leoti ran over and grabbed the spirit.

"Dang!" said Yuuto.

He and Ren vanished. Dren stood up, the pain completely gone.

"You did it!" said Tanya.

She jumped on Kendra and gave her a hug. Kendra laughed and playfully pushed Tanya back.

"Guess you're not the only one who can save the day," she teased.

The purple staff shrank and turned into a small key charm like Tanya's. Kendra glowed and transformed back to normal. Dren and the others transformed to normal as well.

Leoti knelt down next to Chantilly and let go of the little pink light. It glowed and shot into Chantilly. Her skin turned back to a creamy color. She opened her eyes.

"My head hurts," she said.

Leoti rolled her eyes.

"You always say that after something happens," she said.

Chantilly grinned.

"What can I say? I haven't changed much."

Leoti smiled. Dren blinked.

"I think I'm still confused," he said.

"Don't worry," said Chantilly. "When Leoti's around, I'm _always_ confused."

Dren grinned. Tanya giggled. Before they knew it, everyone was laughing their heads off.

Far away in a dimension not many can find, a shadow shifted.

Starfirelf15's comments: Yay Chantilly! She's do much fun! I love the loudmouthed girl character! Doesn't it seem odd that mysterious, remote Leoti would be such good friends with a girl like Chantilly? Ren and Yuuto are fun characters to write about, especially Ren. He's so awesome! Stay tuned for the next episode: Crystal Notes.


	13. Chapter 12: Crystal Notes

"Come on Tanya!"

"I'm coming, ototo-san!"

Tarb skidded to a stop and whirled on Tanya.

"For the last time, stop calling me that!"

Tanya grinned at him.

"But I am the older one," she said.

"By twenty seconds," Tarb grumbled.

"Come on Tarb, I want to meet your teacher," said Tanya. "Can we get going now?"

"Fine," said Tarb.

"Yay!"

Tanya skipped after Tarb down the street. Only moments later they reached the Western Gate. The twins passed through and continued down a wide dirt trail. After walking out of sight of the gate, Tarb turned them onto a thinner deer trail.

"Are we going the right way?" said Tanya.

"Yeah," said Tarb. "Takehiro-sensei doesn't like living around others."

"Why not?" asked Tanya.

"I think it's because he's only half Cyniclon," said Tarb. "He's also half elf, so maybe he feels like he doesn't really fit in."

"I can't wait to meet him."

Her stomach rumbled.

"Maybe I should have brought a snack," she said.

"I told you to bring something," said Tarb. "Takehiro-sensei stinks at cooking."

They came off of the trail and into a small clearing. At the very center, a small traditional style house seemed to melt into the ground. Vine grew up all the sides, giving it the appearance of a bush or some other natural feature of the forest. Tarb walked up to the door and knocked.

"Sensei! It's Tarb!"

There was no answer.

"Is he home?" Tanya asked.

"Should be," said Tarb.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Sensei? You here?"

Smoke wafted into the front hall.

"Is there a fire?" said Tanya, eyes wide.

Tarb rolled his eyes and walked further into the house. He reached the kitchen and looked inside. A tall man wearing black stood in front of an stove, absentmindedly stirring a pot while holding a book.

"Sensei!" said Tarb. "You're burning the food again!"

The man blinked and looked up, saw Tarb and smiled.

"Oh, you're here early, Tarb-san," he said.

"Move out of the way," Tarb grumbled, grabbing the smoking pot of the stove.

"I was just reading this book and I must have forgotten about the food," said Takehiro.

"Why am I not surprised?" said Tarb.

Tanya inhaled the smoke and coughed. Takehiro looked up at her.

"You must be Tarb-san's twin sister," he said.

"I'm his older sister," said Tanya, smiling.

"Really?" said Takehiro.

"She's only twenty seconds older!" said Tarb heatedly.

There was a soft chime in the next room, followed by the sound of a clock pealing.

"Well, we should start your lesson, Tarb-san."

"Yeah," said Tarb.

Tanya followed the pair into the next room. This room was completely empty. Tanya stared around. Wasn't this where the clock sound had come from?

Takehiro clapped his hands together. The center of the room rippled. The ripple swirled and something appeared in the center of the room. Three rows of crystal balls hovered in the air where they hadn't been before.

"Cool!" said Tanya. "What is it?"

"It's an instrument called a Spherical," said Takehiro. "It harnesses and focuses magic through music."

"That awesome!" said Tanya. "Can you play it Tarb?"

"Not that well," said Tarb.

"Tarb-san is getting better," said Takehiro. "Why don't you get started, Tarb-san?"

Tanya watched intently. She wanted to see her brother play this Spherical thing. Suddenly her Kyalda Key warmed at her chest.

_Watch out!_

Something was shouting in her head. She could feel something moving towards the house. Something really big!

"Watch out!"

Tanya knocked into Tarb and they rolled across the floor. The ceiling suddenly caved in, debris falling all around them.

"In the name of Blue—"

A giant scorpion tail dislodged itself from the floor. Eight multifaceted eyes stared through the hole in the ceiling. The kirema anima screeched.

"Why are they always so big?" Tanya said.

"Tarb-san! Tanya-san! Get out of here!" Takehiro shouted.

"Don't worry, Takehiro-sama!" said Tanya. "We deal with this all the time!"

"Let's get this thing taken care of!" said Tarb.

"KYALDA VINE!"

"KYALDA CRYSTAL!"

"METAMORPHOSES!"

The twins transformed and confronted the kirema anima.

"Ribbon Vine Strike!"

Vines surged from the ground to bind the giant scorpion. Another vine surged up from behind the keep its poisonous tail from moving.

"Ribbon Crystal Counter!" Tanya said.

Blue energy surged around the kirema anima and sealed it in crystal.

"Yeah!"

The twins gave each other high fives.

"That was pretty easy," said Tarb.

Suddenly Takehiro knocked them out of the way. Crystal shards fell all around them. The scorpion was free.

The poisonous barb darted down, lodging itself in the wood of the floor where the trio had been only moments before.

"Oh no you don't!" Tanya shouted. "Ribbon Crystal Copy!"

A crystal poison barb grew on the end of Tanya's scepter. She threw her weapon at the scorpion. The crystal barb stuck right into the scorpion's eyes. It screeched and swiped a massive claw at Tanya. Tanya leapt back—just a bit too slowly. The claw hit her in the side, piercing through her costume and drawing blood.

Pain flooded through Tanya like fire. Only a few seconds later she smashed into a wall. The claw kept applying pressure, pushing her further into the wall. Tanya's stomach lurched and she nearly threw up from pain.

"Put my sister down!" Tarb shouted. "Ribbon—"

The anima's tail swung around and knocked Tarb away. He hit the wall with a crunch.

"Ototo-san!"

Tanya tried to shout, but all that came out was a whisper. Her lungs wouldn't fill up. She was starting to feel light-headed from a lack of air. One of her ribs cracked and a new wave of pain crashed into her.

"Crystal Scepter," she whispered.

Her weapon sparked into existence and flickered away. It wasn't working.

_Am I dying?_

She could hear crystalline notes playing all around her. Was this what happened when you died?

"_Seishou Séance!"_

A high clear voice joined the sound of the notes. Tanya couldn't hear the words; she wasn't even sure if there were words. But the song flowed around her like water, soothing the pain. The claw shuddered and moved away, letting Tanya drop towards the ground. But the song turned almost solid, catching her and setting her gently down. The pain in her ribs vanished, stolen away from the crystalline voice.

Tanya couldn't explain why, but the song reminded her of something. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

Tanya stood up, looking around for Tarb and Takehiro. The kirema anima still stood above the house. But now it was thrashing about wildly, as thought it couldn't stand the sound. Tarb was sitting on the ground, staring at the kirema anima.

"Ototo-san!" Tanya shouted.

She ran over to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I think so," he said. "But who's spellsinging?"

"Spellsinging?"

At the exact same time, they both looked towards the center of the room. Takehiro was playing the Spherical, creating the crystalline notes that Tanya had heard at first. Next to him, a glowing silver girl was singing the wordless song.

Tanya had never seen anyone so pretty. She was tall and slender, with short silver hair. Two thin braids fell from somewhere within her hair, falling across her bare shoulders. The dress she wore fell to her knees, shimmering as silver as the aura around her. Her hands were clasped together and her eyes were closed as she sang.

The kirema anima screeched and defused. The girl stopped singing. She looked across the room and her eyes fell upon Tarb and Tanya staring back at her. A small smile played across her face, filled with meaning that Tanya couldn't understand.

Then she just disappeared. Tanya hadn't blinked, but the girl had been there one moment and gone the next. Takehiro stopped playing and the Spherical vanished.

"What in the world was that?" said Tarb.

"That," said Takehiro, "was one of the many uses of the Spherical. It's known as the Seishou Séance technique, or more commonly spirit summoning."

"That was a spirit?" said Tanya, eyes widening.

Takehiro nodded.

"It was a moon wraith. They're especially good at spellsinging, so I thought I'd try to call one."

He glanced into a corner.

"It's getting late. "Tarb-san, we'll have to postpone your lesson to tomorrow."

"I really wasn't in the mood to practice after that, anyway," said Tarb. "Let's go Tanya."

"Bye Takehiro-sama!" said Tanya. "It was nice to meet you!"

"It was good to meet you as well, Kyalda Crystal-sama," said Takehiro.

Both Tarb and Tanya stopped and looked at him. It had totally slipped their minds that Takehiro now knew about them being Kyaldians.

Takehiro smiled.

"Don't worry you two. Your secret is safe with me."

He winked.

"Thank you Takehiro-sama!" said Tanya.

"I'll be here tomorrow," said Tarb. "Don't try to cook anything."

Takehiro laughed.

Starfireelf15's comments: Well, you finally found out what Tarb's secret was. What do you think of Takehiro-san? I think he rocks! Anyone think his personality seems familiar? That's right, Fruits Basket fans, his personality was modeled off of Shishou, Kyo's foster father. (I just love Kyo! ^^) Actually, Takehiro started out as a character in an old fanfiction that I never finished… But in that one he was all Cyniclon, not just half and he was silent and evil. Funny how characters develop isn't it? Stay tuned for next time: Stolen Kiss. (Ooh, I've gotten your attention already! ^^)


	14. Chapter 13: Stolen Kiss

Orla stared out at the forest as the sun made patterns across the leaves, slowly setting into a golden horizon. It had been a while since she had come out onto the terrace. The sun caressed her face and the wind played with the pale pink flower in the hanging basket. But Orla could not enjoy the beauty around her. Her mind was trapped on the memory of the night before.

"_You'll never guess what happened today!" said Tanya._

_Everyone looked up._

"_What's going on Tanya?" asked Leoti. "You and Tarb are late."_

"_We got lost in the woods after Tarb's lesson," said Tanya, ignoring her brother who was nudging her with his elbow._

"_What lesson?"_

"_Never mind that, we got attacked by a kirema anima!" said Tanya. "And Takehiro-sama called up a spirit to drive it off!"_

"_Tanya," Tarb muttered. "That was supposed to be a secret."_

"_What kind of spirit?" said Dren. "Like a sylph or something?"_

_Tanya shook her head, eyes bright with excitement._

"_Takehiro-sama said it was a moon wraith!" said Tanya. "She was really pretty, with this short silver hair that had two braids coming out of it and a short silver dress—"_

"_Two layers," Orla said suddenly._

_Tanya stopped._

"_What?" she said._

"_The skirt," said Orla. "Did it have two layers with points on the ends?"_

_Sardon shifted in the corner, his eyes fixing on Orla. He knew why she was asking. And he was just as anxious to hear the answer._

_Tanya's brow furrowed as she thought._

"_I didn't see that—"_

"_Yeah," said Tarb. "Yeah, it was."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah, I noticed, even if you didn't."_

"_Hey!"_

_The shock surged through Orla. She glanced back at her father. He met her gaze and knowing passed between them. Perhaps Orla's mother was not as gone as they had both believed…_

Orla sighed, turning the possibility around in her mind. What if her mother was alive? Sure she appeared whenever Orla transformed into a tree, but that was just the magic of the moonlight that allowed her to walk among the living. At least, that's what Orla's mother had said. But according the Tanya, this Takehiro had summoned Hailie—in broad daylight and with the ability to use her powers.

Orla had resolved to ask her mother about it the next time Orla transformed into a tree—but that wasn't for another month. Orla didn't think she could wait that long.

"What are you thinking about Moon-chan?"

Orla instinctively fell to one knee and grabbed the knife in her boot.

"Who's there?" she said.

"Who do you think?"

The voice was familiar…

A person appeared, leaning casually against the banister.

"You're Ren!" said Orla. "You stole Chantilly's spirit!"

"See, you do know who I am," he said, grinning.

"What are you doing here?" Orla snapped. "Don't make me hurt you."

"Well aren't we feisty this morning?"

Orla didn't dare make a move toward the open door. He might attack if she moved.

"Are you going to answer my questions or not?" Orla said.

She held the knife out threateningly.

"Just wanted to say hello," said Ren.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Orla knew what was happening, Ren had grabbed her wrist and twisted it. The knife clattered to the ground and Ren pushed Orla up against the railing, grabbing her other wrist when she tried to punch him.

"Let. Go. Of. Me," Orla said.

Ren's arrogant smile was gone.

"I like you," he said. "You're not like the other Cyniclons."

"What that heck are you talking about?" Orla said.

"Your aura is different," said Ren, as though that was an explanation.

"Let go."

Ren didn't let go. Orla didn't struggle. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she bring herself to move? And why was her heart beating so fast?

"You know, you're cute when you're angry," he said. "But it's even better when you're calm."

Orla didn't know what to say to that. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to kill him or just run away.

"What do you want?" said Orla.

"Isn't it obvious yet?" said Ren.

Before Orla could even think, Ren was kissing her. It wasn't a totally forceful, perverted kiss like she had expected. It was gentle.

Even so, Orla didn't like it. She struggled again, trying to escape. Someone knocked into Ren and hit him against the railing. Orla scrambled to catch herself before she fell and saw her father, holding the old sword that had hung in their living room.

"Stay away from my daughter," Sardon said. "Orla, come here."

Orla ran to her father's side and he pushed her protectively behind him.

"Dang. I thought you were gone," said Ren. "You invaded our privacy."

"Don't come near my daughter or I'll kill you, demon."

"Oh, so you already know what I am?"

Ren smirked.

"See you later, Moon-chan," he said.

"Stay away from me pervert," Orla growled.

Ren shrugged and vanished. Orla was still trembling from shock. Sardon dropped the sword and pulled Orla into a hug.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly.

Orla nodded, words not coming to her.

_I hate you Ren!_

"Are you sure she's home?" Mairead asked.

"She said she would be," said Dren.

"Well go ahead and knock already!" said Tanya.

Dren, Mairead and Tanya stood outside Orla's house. The Kyaldians had made plans to go down to the boardwalk this afternoon but Orla hadn't shown up. So Dren, Mairead and Tanya had gone to see what was up.

Dren knocked. Silence.

"Orla?" he called. "Orla are you here?"

He tried the door knob and the door swung open silently.

"Well, it's open," he said.

Mairead took a step inside ahead of Dren.

"Orla-san?" she called.

There was a crash at the end of the hall. The trio looked at each other and dashed down the hall.

"Orla!" Dren shouted. "Are you all right—"

They made it to the end of the hall and Dren ducked under a flying chair.

"Um, Orla?"

The room was a mess. Orla was in the process of kicking a table onto its side.

"Are you okay?" Mairead said.

"Yes!" said Orla. "I am completely—"

_**Crash!**_

"—totally—"

_**Crash!**_

"—FINE!"

A table leg snapped.

"It sure doesn't look like it," said Dren.

(Starfireelf15: *sweatdrop*)

"Well I'm FINE!"

Orla grabbed a clock and hurled it across the room.

"Where's Sardon?" Dren asked.

"Outside," Orla growled.

"Okay..."

"Orla, are you coming down to the boardwalk with us today?" Mairead asked. "It's really okay if you don't want to."

"Fine," said Orla. "I'll come."

She marched past them and out the door. Dren, Tanya and Mairead looked at each other.

"Do you get the feeling something happened?" Dren asked.

"Yep," said Tanya.

"Maybe we should just not say anything about it," said Mairead.

"Good idea," said Dren.

"She'd probably bite our heads off if we tried to ask her about it," said Tanya. "Literally."

The trio nodded and followed Orla out the door.

"Fresh crepes! Buy your fresh crepes here!"

"Walnuts, chestnuts and blacknuts! Get them here while they're in season!"

The calls of the booth tenders grated against Orla's mind. Every shout made her head throb.

"There are a lot of merchants here today," Dren said.

Kendra nodded.

"Yeah, I guess the caravans must have come in ahead of the snow this year," said Kendra.

Orla wasn't paying attention. Her emotions boiled as they moved down the boardwalk and wove through the crowds. She couldn't even begin to count the different kinds of anger she was feeling. At the smallest footfall, she saw Ren's smug smile in her mind and she had to force herself not to hit something.

"Orla?" Mairead asked. "Are you totally sure that you're feeling all right?"

Orla nodded jerkily, knowing that if she tried to speak she would blow up. Mairead glanced at the other Kyaldians, waiting for the pair in front of the food tent. Mairead waved at Dren, signaling them to go on ahead. That taken care of, Mairead turned back to the steaming Orla.

"Listen, I can tell that something's wrong," she said. "If you want to talk about it, I want to let you know that I'm her for you. I'm ready to listen."

The swirling thoughts in Orla's mind quieted—at least a little bit.

"Thanks, Mairead," said Orla. "But I'm not sure I want to talk about it. At least not yet."

She scuffed a foot across the ground.

"Do you mind leaving me alone for a while? I need to think."

Mairead nodded. She patted Orla on the shoulder.

"I'll let the others know that you'll catch up later."

Orla watched Mairead disappear into the food tent before striking out on her own. She wandered between the tents with no real purpose in her mind, not really paying much attention to anything. It would have been great to slip into an alleyway like she could in the city to escape from the hustle and noise. Unfortunately, even behind the tents there were swarms of people.

Before she knew it, Orla was standing at the very edge of the boardwalk, staring over the harbor. The rhythmic crash of the waters against the shore soothed Orla, washing away her stress. She stopped to listen for a while watching the afternoon sunlight glinting off the top of the waves.

"The ocean is beautiful," she murmured.

"Not as beautiful as you, Moon-chan."

The spell of the waves shattered and Orla whipped around to see Ren grinning at her.

"Why do you look so shocked?" he asked. "Aren't you glad to see me?"

"I'd rather spend an eternity blind if it meant I didn't have to see your face," Orla snarled.

"Feisty as ever," said Ren.

"I'll get feistier if you don't clear out, pervert!"

Ren vanished and for a split second Orla thought he was gone. But suddenly he hugged her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Let go!" Orla shouted.

"Come on, Orla. Why don't you just give in and admit you like me?"

"I'd rather kiss a Tortall Spidren!"

Ren let go suddenly. Orla turned around to face him, preparing to go for the knife in her boot. To her surprise, there was a mischievous smile on his face.

"That could be arranged," he said, snapping his fingers.

The air ripped open, blinding Orla with a sudden flash of sickly green light. Blinking rapidly to clear her vision she saw what Ren had just done—a spidren was standing on the boardwalk.

Orla's skin crawled. Spidren were huge spider like creatures with the head of a human and sharp, silver teeth. This was not good.

"Care to take back that comment of yours?" Ren said, floating lazily in the air.

"Shut up!"

People had started to notice there was a spidren on the boardwalk. Screams pierced the air as everyone tried to run away at once. Orla could see the spidren watching the struggling crowd, trying to decide where to strike.

_I have to do something before people get hurt!_

"Kyalda Moon! META—"

The spidren moved forward much faster than she had anticipated. It seized her in its massive forelegs, squeezing the air right out of her. Her pendant clattered to the ground, useless.

"Nice little treat," the spidren cackled.

Orla couldn't have screamed even if she wanted to. Where were the others? They must have noticed the chaos by now!

"If you ask nicely, I might decide to save you," said Ren. "You might want to think about it since help won't be coming. Yuuto made sure of that."

Orla's last hope drained away. She was going to die.

"You die too slow, treat!" the spidren said.

It lifted one of its other legs, a long poisonous looking claw sliding out like a cat's talon. Just before the claw pierced her arm Orla thought she saw Ren's face with an emotion that didn't look quite right. It looked like fear.

Then she drowned in a pain-filled blackness.

"Orla!"

"Orla-oneechan!"

"Come on, breathe!"

"Don't give up!"

"Orla!"

Orla's eyes opened. Her arm was throbbing painfully, but she took it as a sign that she was still alive. Her vision was blurred, so she checked her other senses. She could still hear the crash of the waves and smell the salt water. Someone was holding her. She tried to flex her fingers. The right arm responded, but her left arm took a few tries. Something cold rested on her chest. Her Eversphere? No, she could feel that pulsing elsewhere.

Her vision cleared and she saw her father above her. He was the one holding her.

"Dad…"

The fear on Sardon's face vanished to be replaced with relief and exhaustion.

"Don't talk," he said. "You lost a lot of blood."

Orla twisted her head to focus on her blood drenched arm. Green tinted the red blood. That must have been the poison. Where there should have been a puncture wound there was only a round scar.

"The spidren," Orla rasped.

"Dead."

It was Dren's voice.

"When we got her you were unconscious. The spidren had a stab wound right on the back."

"We figured you did it," said Mairead. "Before you blacked out."

"I blacked out when it poisoned me," Orla said slowly. "I didn't kill it. It nearly killed me."

She could tell how confused everyone was. She was still confused herself.

"But oneechan," said Tanya. "You're not poisoned. "It was all gone when we got here."

What?

Orla tried to flex her fingers again. They responded almost instantly. Her arm had even stopped throbbing. Orla sat up carefully. The world stayed in place. There was no headache.

The cold object she had felt before slid down like a necklace as she sat up. Under the pretense of rubbing her neck, she felt the back of her neck to find a thin cold chain—definitely not the black fabric strap that held her Eversphere.

"Are you okay?" asked Kendra.

"Strangely enough, yes," said Orla.

She looked around to find the spidren. Just as Dren had said, the monster was dead; its green blood stained the wood of the dock. The blood seemed to have come from a wound on its back—a wound that looked as though it was inflicted by Orla's own double swords.

A thought tickled her brain.

_Ren has double swords too._

She pushed the thought away angrily.

"Can you stand?" her father asked.

"Let's find out," said Orla.

Sardon helped her up.

"Will you be able to walk?" asked Tarb.

Surprisingly enough, she could.

Orla was sitting on her terrace again, watching the natural ballet being performed by the sunlight across the leaves dancing in the wind. The glimmer of fresh protection spells lingered on the edge of her vision. Her father had renewed them after Ren's appearance, vowing that Ren would not surprise her alone again.

Orla sighed, fingering the locket in her hands—the locket she had found after her near-death experience. She held it up, letting it dangle and glint silver in the setting sunlight. In moments, the sun had vanished completely behind the horizon, leaving only the dim light of the half moon. The circular locket glinted once, then half of it darkened to match the phase of the moon.

Orla placed the moon locket back in her hand and clicked it open. A faint, haunting melody chimed in the darkness. Orla stared at the inside, carved with intricate symbols. In the left side, a piece of paper had been jammed into the place where pictures go. Orla had already read the note. She didn't need to read it again to remember what it had said.

_I love you, Moon-chan. _

—_Ren _

She went back to studying the runes carved on the inside. She didn't know all of them, but her Ancient Languages class had taught her something. They were ancient symbols of protection and healing—symbols that held power. Symbols that had saved Orla's life from the spidren's poison.

Orla closed it softly, bringing the song inside to a halt. She had put the pieces together. She knew what had happened after she blacked out. Ren had stabbed the spidren and put the locket on her to save her life.

But why?

Orla clutched the locket in a fist, preparing to hurl it into the woods. But the more she tried to throw it, the tighter she clutched it. Slowly, she drew her hand back. Fumbling with the clasp, she put it back on.

"This doesn't change anything," she said. "Ren and I are enemies. I hate him."

But even as the words passed her lips, she knew she was lying.

Starfireelf15's comments: This is an AWESOME chapter! Yeah, yeah I know that Ren is a lot like Kish, but I really don't care. I love Kish's personality and you won't see much of that from Dren in this story. Anyway, Orla isn't really in love with him yet. You know how Ichigo feels about Kish. It's like a love-hate relationship, with most of the hate with Orla and Ichigo and most of the love with Ren and Kish. You get it, right? I didn't think so. Anyways, I think I'm done now.


	15. Chapter 14: Buried Alive

"Yay! It's still warm today!"

Tanya ran around in circles in her front lawn.

"The sun is shining and the birds are singing and the grass is green and it still feels like SUMMER!"

Tarb came through the doorway and rolled his eyes at Tanya.

"We still have to go to school," he said. "So it doesn't feel like summer to me."

"You're such a stick-in-the-mud," Tanya pouted. "Race you to the trail head!"

Tanya sped on ahead.

"No fair, you got a head start, and you're a faster runner than me!" Tarb shouted and he tried to catch up.

Tanya skidded to a stop at the trail head.

"And Tanya is the winner!" she announced.

Tarb jogged up to her and stopped, panting.

"Give me a chance once in a while, why don't you?" he said.

"That's no fun!" said Tanya. "Plus, you need to exercise."

"Oh shut up," Tarb grumbled.

They headed down the path. Tanya constantly dove off the path to weave around trees before appearing farther away in front of Tarb to freak him out. Tarb ignored her, checking the skies for Illishar or one of the other creatures he had befriended.

"Yo, Tarb, Tanya!"

Tanya stopped orbiting Tarb to see Kendra.

"Kendra-oneesama!" she said, running over to hug her.

"Full of exuberance as ever," Kendra laughed.

"You don't have to live with her," Tarb grumbled.

Dren laughed.

"You're always getting on each others nerves, aren't you?" he said.

"No, Tanya's always getting on MY nerves."

Rikuto checked his watch.

"We'd better hurry up, unless we want to be late to class," he said.

"Right," said Mairead. "Come on everybody!"

The group continued down the trail. Tanya breathed in the early fall air. Even though the sun beat down warmly like summer, she could detect a subtle chill lacing the breeze. A few yellow and red leaves rustled among the green, like flowers in a sea of green. Tanya let her mind wander to the night before and the startling news that Leoti had revealed.

"_So Leoti, what fun stuff do you want to talk to us about now?" asked Chantilly._

_Leoti rolled her eyes._

"_It's not exactly 'fun stuff' we're talking about," she said._

"_Exactly," said Chantilly. "That's why it's fun stuff."_

"_Fun stuff aside," said Dren, talking over Leoti's retort. "What did you want to tell us?"_

_Leoti took a breath to compose herself._

"_All right," she said. "Now you all know that Ren and Yuuto have been harder to defeat than Kolora."_

"_Why don't you tell us something we don't know?" said Orla._

"_I'm getting to it," said Leoti. "We found out that Ren and Yuuto are not Cyniclons."_

"_Well Kolora's a half-banshee, right?" said Tarb. "So they're half something?"_

_Leoti shook her head._

"_They're not even one-fourth Cyniclon," she said. "They're a type of spirit known in common tongue as demons."_

_Silence filled the room. Leoti took advantage of her now attentive audience._

"_Ren and Yuuto are able to create kirema anima—a power that Cyniclons don't have," she continued. "Also, Ren was able to open a vortex between dimensions and summon a spidren—another demon ability."_

_Tanya raised her hand, waving it around in the air._

"_Yes, Tanya?" asked Leoti._

"_But aren't demons supposed to be really creepy and not look like normal creatures?" she said. "That's what my mom told me."_

"_Descriptions of ancient Fayrie creatures have been distorted over the centuries," said Leoti. "Demons are formless in their first few years of existence, having the ability to shapeshift. After these years, they choose the form that they'll stay in for the rest of their lives."_

"_So Ren and Yuuto chose Cyniclon forms?" said Dren._

_Leoti nodded._

"_If they're demons, how do we beat them?" Kendra asked._

_Leoti shrugged._

"_It was hard enough finding enough of Fayrie literature to determine that they were demons," Leoti said. "I haven't found anything about their weaknesses yet."_

"Hey, Synoch to Tanya," said Tarb's voice.

Tanya blinked.

"We turn here," he said, pointing to the road.

"Oh, yeah!" said Tanya, turning down the right road.

She turned to wave at the others.

"See you after school!" Tanya called before racing on ahead.

The twins wove through the crowd going into the middle school. Tanya waved goodbye to Tarb before racing upstairs to her locker.

"Crystal Mimic," she said.

Her locker clicked open, working with a spell that reacted only to her voice and the correct password—a personal achievement of her own after someone had stuffed Crab-Eating Slugs in her locker.

Tanya skipped down the hall, her book bag swinging.

"Hey, Tanya. Get run over by a bus?"

A skinny twelve-year-old elf sneered at her uniform, covered in leaves and twigs from her detours along the trail.

"Yep, and you got eaten, digested and regurgitated by a wyvern as always, Konan," said Tanya cheerfully.

"Hey—"

"Oh, and Shauna told me to tell you that it's never going to happen, so stop wasting her time," she said. "That was your daily report from the Matchmaker!"

She ran on before Konan could get another word in. Two minutes later, she darted into her classroom the second before the bell rang.

"Cutting it close, aren't we?" her teacher said, raising an eyebrow.

"Just like always, so that what you should expect!" said Tanya, taking her seat.

A few kids behind her snickered. She turned in her seat and stuck her tongue out at them—which was actually rather frightening because she had just finished off a lollipop that made your tongue look like a snake's for two hours. (A gift from a friend that had studied wizardry in England for a few years.)

"All right class, today we are—"

_**CRASH!**_

The whole school trembled as though an earthquake had just passed through.

"All students to the the Atrium at the center of the school!" the loudspeaker blared. "All students to the Atrium!"

Tanya's first thought was an earthquake. Her second thought was a kirema anima. In the confusion of kids trying to get through the door and to the Atrium, Tanya picked the lock on the window and jumped through, darting towards the center of the quakes.

Tarb appeared next to her from another window and they ran on.

"_Any ideas what it is?" _Tanya asked through their mind connection.

"_More poisonous trees?"_

"_I don't think Kolora would try THAT stunt again after I took care of them," _said Tanya.

"_I don't think she'd repeat herself either, but I don't think it was because of you," _said Tarb.

"_Hmph."_

The twins skidded to a stop just before they tumbled into a dark hole. Tanya knelt at the edge and peered down. There appeared to be no bottom.

"Hello!" she called down.

Tarb knocked her on the head.

"Idiot! Don't tell them we're here!"

Tanya ignored him, listening to her voice bounced off of a faraway bottom.

"It sounds like it's probably about seventy feet down," she said. "With a huge chamber underneath."

Tarb sighed.

"Only one thing to do then," he said.

"Yay! Let's go down into the dark creepy hole of holeness!" said Tanya, punching her fist in the air.

Tarb sighed. (*mushroom sigh*)

"Yes, all that doom and gloom stuff," he said. "Let's contact the others first."

"You can do that, I'm headed down!" Tanya said, taking off and floating down through the hole.

"Tanya! Wait, we don't know what's down there—"

Tanya wasn't listening. She shivered at the closeness of the tunnel walls and the darkness as she got farther down, but she persevered. Tarb would be along in a few seconds anyway.

Only moments later, the tunnel walls widened and opened out into a giant chamber lit by sickly green fire. Tanya flew over to the flames, studying them. They gave her a nauseous feeling after staring at it for too long, so she looked away to find the source of the problem instead.

A gasp escaped her lungs. The chamber was HUGE! She could barely see the ceiling, and the far end was completely covered in shadows, seemingly moved endlessly. Even the green flames farther off seemed to vanish without giving any light. Tanya bit her lip. Tarb hadn't followed her yet. Should she wait for him before moving forward?

"This is boring, Ren," a voice complained.

Tanya recognized it—it was Yuuto.

"Why is this important?" he continued. "Digging a hole isn't going to defeat the Kyaldians."

"_Au contraire, _my friend," Ren's voice said.

"Whatever that means," Yuuto grumbled.

"This tunnel is right underneath the school of two of the Kyaldians," Ren said, obviously ignoring his younger partner. "When the tunnel gets big enough, everything above will have less support."

"And?"

"And then the school collapses," Ren said. "Those Kyaldians won't know what hit them."

Tanya held her gasp this time, afraid she would be heard. They could kill hundreds of people!

"Ren?"

Tanya held her breath to hear better.

"Hm?" said Ren.

"What about...what about everybody else in the school?"

"What about them?"

"Well...our fight isn't with them. If we collapse the school, everyone else will die."

What? Was Yuuto actually having seconds thoughts about being evil? Tanya strained her ears to listen.

"You having second thoughts about our contract, Yuuto?"

"No, not really!" said Yuuto quickly. "I just...it doesn't feel right."

Pause.

"It doesn't really matter what happens to anyone else," said Ren. "Just so long as we do what we're told to."

"I guess so," Yuuto mumbled. "Never mind what I said."

"Never minding," said Ren, seeming unworried.

Tanya took a deep breath. There was no waiting for her little brother now. She zoomed into the darkness, transforming as she did.

"Hey!" she shouted, zooming into the pool of light around Ren, Yuuto and a giant eight-eyed mole thingy.

Ren and Yuuto turned. The mole kept digging into the side of the wall, paying attention to nothing else.

"Well, it seems one Kyaldian managed to find out our plans," said Ren, smirking.

Twin sabers swirled into existence in his hands.

"Makes you easier to get rid of at least," he said.

"Not a chance, freakazoid!" said Tanya. "Crystal Scepter!"

Her weapon appeared. Ren raised his sabers, obviously preparing for a strike. Suddenly Yuuto stuck a hand out, blocking Ren. Ren glanced at his younger partner.

"Ren, I'll handle this," Yuuto said. "You keep going with the plan."

Ren shrugged and his swords vanished.

"All right," he said. "I'll take our venture elsewhere."

He vanished into rippling air, taking the mole with him.

"Wait!" Tanya shouted.

She was about to teleport after him when a dagger whipped past her ear, narrowly missing its target. She whirled on Yuuto, who already had another dagger in his hand.

"I could have hit you that time," he said. "I just wanted you to pay attention."

"Shut up, chibi baka!"

(Yuuto: *pulsing vein in forehead*)

"Don't call me chibi!" he said.

"It's true, you are," said Tanya.

Yuuto hurled the second dagger at Tanya. Tanya jerked her scepter up, creating a crystal shield just in time.

"You think you're tough, don't you," Yuuto said.

Tanya glared at him.

"Keep it up, chibi. The other Kyaldians are right on my tail."

Shock appeared on Yuuto face for a split-second, vanishing just as suddenly under his mask of indifference.

"Well when they get here, you'll be dead already," he said. "All it'll take is the smallest scratch from my knife."

"Shut up," Tanya said. "Ribbon...Crystal COUNTER!"

The blue energy blasted like wildfire from the crystal tip. Energy burst through Tanya. Her anger at Yuuto and Ren for even thinking about hurting so many people surged through her, making the crystal fire even stronger. All she could think about was the magic pulsing through her body—and then it was gone.

Drained of energy, the last thing Tanya knew before she blacked out was that the sky was falling.

When Tanya woke up, the first thing to come to her was the pain. Burning, throbbing, fiery pain all over her chest and legs. It hurt to breathe. Actually, it was nearly impossible to breathe. Tanya could see nothing. Everything was completely dark no matter how much she blinked. For a terrifying moment, she thought she was blind. Then she realized that all the green torches had gone out. The second realization was that she was hurting so much because she was buried up to her chest in dirt.

She tried to wiggle her legs. They didn't respond. She tried her arms. Nothing. Her fingers moved, but very slightly. She tried teleporting, but she was buried so tightly that it wouldn't work. She could feel the beginning of panic in her stomach.

_Okay, I have to calm down,_ she thought. _I have to try and contact the others._

She reached out to her Eversphere with her mind. Magic sparked in her mind than fizzled out. She was completely drained of power. Panic was rushing through her now. If she had collapsed part of the chamber, than the opening was probably sealed off. If Ren and Yuuto were smart, and she knew they were, they would have put up teleportation blocks that preventing anyone from coming in. That meant there was no help coming anytime soon. And if help didn't come soon, she might be dead from a lack of oxygen. Or from internal bleeding. Or Yuuto would come and finish her off. Or all of them at once.

Tanya wasn't thinking straight. Her thoughts jumbled together with no real purpose. She couldn't think of anything that wasn't horrible. She was terrified. She didn't want to die.

_Umf!_

Tanya stopped thinking. Had she just heard someone?

"Oh dark take it all," someone swore. "This darn stuff won't MOVE!"

Tanya still couldn't think straight. She knew the voice was familiar but she didn't know who it was.

"This'll take forever to dig through," the person grumbled. "And then she'll be dead. Oh sure she brought the tunnel down on herself, but did I try to stop it? No. Did I try to convince Ren to stop with this stupid idea? No. I'm such an IDIOT!"

There was a pause in which Tanya could hear the person struggling against something.

"Fine! We'll do this another way," the person said.

He took a deep breath.

"_Terra, son!"_

The pressure on Tanya's chest lifted slightly.

"_Terra, son!"_

The dirt lifted completely off of Tanya's chest, freeing her. She didn't move, afraid that she had broken something that would get worse if she moved. She could hear her rescuer breathing heavily.

"Well, that wasn't fun," he grumbled.

_Snap, snap._

A small flame lit in the darkness, illuminating the face of her rescuer.

It was Yuuto.

Yuuto cupped the flame in his hand, gently tossing it up to hover and spread light around the much smaller chamber. He glanced up.

"Well if my senses are correct, the school stayed up," he said. "So much for Ren's plan."

Secretly he was glad it hadn't worked. He wasn't sure if he could take having that many deaths on his conscience. That Tanya girl was still lying on the ground where she had been before, trembling slightly. Yuuto noticed that she wasn't transformed anymore. Ren would have named this an opportunity to fulfill the contract, but Yuuto pushed the thought away.

"You can get up now," said Yuuto. "You didn't break anything, luckily."

Tanya slowly sat up, tentatively testing out her legs before trying to stand up.

"However, you did manage to bring the entire roof down on us and sealed the opening," Yuuto grumbled. "So you're going to be stuck down here for a really long time."

Tanya was studying the pile of dirt off the the side that Yuuto had moved off of her. Then she turned around to stare at him.

"You saved me," she said.

Yuuto avoided her gaze, wondering why his face was heating up. (Yuuto doesn't know what blushing is. ^^)

"So?" he said. "What's it to you?"

Suddenly Tanya leapt on him, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you!" she said. "Yuuto you're really a good guy aren't you!"

"Hey, get off me, you stupid Cyniclon!" Yuuto said, shoving her off of him.

Tanya broke away, grinning at him.

"You act tough, but you're really just a sweet person, aren't you?" she said.

"Shut up," Yuuto said.

His face felt really hot. What was his problem? Tanya was looking around at the chamber.

"I really did a number on this place," she said. "I didn't even know I could do that."

"Yeah, and you almost killed the both of us," Yuuto grumbled. "Plus now you're stuck here cause Ren put up teleportation blocks for Cyniclons. Of course, I could leave at anytime."

Tanya turned and smiled at him. Yuuto's heart skipped a beat and he suddenly had a thought. Maybe he didn't want to leave just yet.

Tarb stomped on the collapsed hole, hoping that he could break through it.

"Dang!" he said. "Why didn't I follow her when I had the chance?"

Dren, Kendra and Orla appeared from the ripples in the air.

"We got here as quickly as we could," said Kendra.

"Where's Ren and Yuuto?" said Orla.

"Where's Tanya?" Dren asked.

Tarb sighed.

"She went down into the hole before I had a chance to contact you," he said. "I was going to go right after her when the whole thing collapsed!"

"Can't we teleport inside?" Orla asked.

Tarb shook his head.

"Don't you think I tried that already?" he said. "I thought about using my vines to dig, but I might make things worse."

Dren took a breath.

"Okay, we need to think of a plan—"

"Well, well, well, the other Kyaldians have arrived!"

It was Ren's voice.

"I supposed you were trying to find a way to get to your little crystal partner, but I'm sure Yuuto's already finished her off."

He appeared suddenly beneath a huge oak.

"Shut up!" Orla shouted.

"Yeah, you don't know Tanya," said Tarb. "She can hold her own."

Ren shrugged.

"All I know is that all it'll take is a single scratch," he said. "The odds aren't her favor."

"What do you want?" Dren said. "Are you just here to make fun of us?"

"Well that was part of it," said Ren. "but since you were so nice as to all gather in one place—"

He snapped his fingers. A giant eight-eyed mole-like kirema anima burst from the ground, poison dripping from its mouth.

"Let's have some fun, why don't we?" said Ren, laughing.

"In the name of Blue," Dren swore.

Yuuto stared up at the ceiling to avoid looking at Tanya, who was sitting right next to him.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" Yuuto said, still staring at the ceiling. "I could kill you at any moment."

Tanya smiled.

"If you were going to kill me, you would have left me under that pile of dirt," she said.

That was true.

"No one should have to die like that," Yuuto said. "That's the only reason I saved you."

Tanya just smiled. Yuuto looked away. That smile made him feel weird.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked. "You can't transform, you can't contact your friends and you can't teleport out of here."

Tanya looked off into the darkness.

"I'm not quite sure," she said. "But I'm not afraid, because I'm not alone."

The ground rumbled slightly. The ground beneath them started to tremble, as though something was beneath it and trying to get out. Yuuto leapt to his feet, realizing that another of the digging kirema anima was about to emerge only seconds before it did.

The kirema anima broke free of the dirt, making the chamber rumble ominously.

"Hey!" Yuuto shouted. "Stop that! You'll bring the whole thing down on us!"

The kirema anima didn't seem to be listening. It continued to thrash about.

"Dark take it all," Yuuto swore.

The kirema anima was totally out of his control. He heard Tanya scream. Whipping around, he saw the mole fixing on her, about to shoot its poison attack at her.

"WATCH OUT!"

Yuuto didn't know what came over him. His body was moving without his consent. He was running towards Tanya in slow motion. The mole was beginning to attack. Tanya was trying to find a way to escape. Yuuto was diving into her—and then time snapped back into a normal form.

The pair rolled across the ground, narrowly missing the poison attack. When they stopped rolling, Yuuto was on top. His face was so close to Tanya's! They stared at each other, neither one quite comprehending what was going on.

The screech of a frustrated kirema anima brought Yuuto back to his senses. He got back to his feet, facing the kirema anima.

"Creature of the Abyss! Come undone!" he shouted, slicing his hand through the air.

The anima stopped and thrashed again. It screeched—and vanished, leaving behind an infuser and a mole, which instantly ran away. Yuuto caught the Infuser and vanished it. For a moment, nothing happened while he stood there. Then Tanya jumped on him from behind.

"Yuuto-chan! You saved me again!" she said.

"Get off me!" he said. "And don't call me that!"

"Yuuto-kun?"

"Not that either!"

"Whatever you say, Yuuto-kun! ^^"

Yuuto pushed her off.

"Thank you so much!" said Tanya. "You really are a good guy!"

"Shut up!" Yuuto said.

Even he could hear the anger and frustration in his own voice. Tanya blinked and stopped smiling. Yuuto whirled on her, punching the wall behind her.

"Listen to me!" he shouted. "I couldn't even be your friend if I wanted to!"

Tanya was staring at Yuuto with wide eyes.

"I don't know why I saved you both times, but I can't do it anymore!" he said. "I have to do what I'm told to do, and that means we're enemies! Enemies, you got it?"

Tanya still didn't say anything, just staring at him. Yuuto's hand slipped from the wall and down to his side.

"I...I can't do this..."

He could feel the tears pricking at his eyes.

"I don't...want this..."

He sank to his knees, crying silently. He felt Tanya kneel down in front of him. She touched his shoulder.

"Yuuto-kun..." she said. "What's making you so sad?"

He didn't look up at her.

"I can't...it's hard to explain," he mumbled.

"I'm listening," said Tanya.

And suddenly all Yuuto wanted was to tell her everything.

(Yuuto's first person POV—two years ago)

It was already dark when I came to meet Ren at the edge of Belladonna Forest.

"What's up?" I asked.

Ren grinned.

"I found us a job," he said.

I rolled my eyes.

"You know how I feel about contracts," I said. "I don't like feeling bound to something."

I'm a demon—a Fayrie creature. Fayrie creatures, things like spirits and dragons can be captured and bound to a master. Demons are different. We can be summoned but we have to agree to a contract before we can be bound.

"Don't worry about it Yuuto," said Ren. "This one seems pretty fair."

I glanced into the shadows to study our contractor. He was mostly in the shadows, but demons can see pretty well in the dark. I took a quick features check. Tall, male with a long blue cloak and long black hair. Icy blue eyes that glinted red in the shifting moonlight and Cyniclon-ears. I checked his aura. Dark blue laced with fiery red and dark purple. Definitely a demon, with a little bit of banshee thrown in.

"So what's the contract?" I asked, feeling a bit uncertain about this whole thing.

Ren passed me a scroll. I snorted—how old fashioned. Earthling "witches" used to give us this stuff. I scanned it. It had a lot of filler stuff, but what I got out of it was that we had to defeat a group of Cyniclons that were in the way of something the contractor wanted.

I shrugged.

"Fine," I said.

Ren grinned.

"That's the Yuuto I know," he said.

When I signed the contract, I forgot to read the fine print.

(Back to present)

Tanya stared at Yuuto.

"So you don't have a choice?" she said.

Yuuto shook his head.

"Isn't there a way to get rid of the contract?"

Yuuto shook his head again.

"I didn't know it was going to be like this," he muttered. "I didn't like it at first and I hate it now. But there's no way to get out of it until you Kyaldians are out of the way."

Tanya felt tears in her eyes—angry tears.

"I hate Deep Blue!" she said.

Yuuto seemed startled by her sudden outburst.

"I promise Yuuto-kun," Tanya said. "I'll find a way to break your contract!"

Yuuto stared at her. It was when the chamber started rumbling that he stopped staring.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

He grabbed Tanya's arm and stepped out into the sunlight. He let go of her arm. They stood there staring at each other for a long time.

"I have to go," he grumbled, turning.

"Yuuto-kun!" said Tanya.

Yuuto turned back around. Tanya kissed him on the cheek. He blushed.

"What the heck was that for?" he said.

"I promise, Yuuto-kun," said Tanya. "I'll help you get free."

Yuuto blinked—then he scowled.

"You won't be able to," he said. "And we're still enemies. The next time we meet, we'll be on opposite sides."

He vanished away, leaving Tanya behind.

"Tanya!"

Tanya turned around. The other Kyaldians were there.

"Tanya, you're okay!" said Tarb.

"Of course I am, ototo-san!" she said. "I'm much much MUCH better than fine!"

Far away in another dimension, Yuuto touched the spot where Tanya had kissed him.

"Freaky little Cyniclon girl," he grumbled.

Then he smiled slightly, the first time in two years.

"Still, I guess she's okay," he said. "Maybe we'll meet again—as friends."

Starfireelf15's comments: Well? What did you think about Ren and Yuuto being demons? I bet you all like that cause in all those Who Would You Fall For quizzes there's always a demon. I think Yuuto is my favorite bad guy of all time. His emotions are just so deep and he's so fun to write about. You know, I didn't know about the contract until just a few days ago. I was spacing out in World Civilizations and suddenly Yuuto came and told me about it. Not literally, but in my head. Everyone thinks that authors do whatever they want with their stories, but really the truth is that the characters decide how it works out. They do what they want, and all the author is doing is writing down what they do. Stay tuned for next episode: Towering Doom. (My little brother insists that I should call it the Terrifying Temple of Towering Doom, but there's no temple in it so I say less is more. ^^)


	16. Chapter 15: Towering Doom

"Hey where's Mairead? She said she was coming."

Orla checked her watch.

"Well it's only three o'clock," she said. "Maybe she's running late."

"She's been late more often lately," said Kendra.

She gave Dren a sidelong glance. He quickly looked away. Kendra shrugged.

"Well I guess we could split up while we're waiting," she said. "No point in standing around while the fall festival is going on."

The group was at the fall festival. It was a thing that all of the city participated in.

"I want to see that book stall over there," said Orla. "Don't wait for me."

She crossed the street.

"I want something to eat," said Bryn. "Kendra let's go over to the crepe stall."

"Sure," said Kendra.

Kokoro and Rikuto went over to look at some of the other stalls, leaving Dren, Tarb and Tanya behind.

"Hey, take a look at this!" said Tanya.

She pulled a poster from a wall.

"Tanya, you shouldn't take those things down," said Dren.

"Just look at it!" said Tanya.

Dren sighed and looked at it. It was a poster.

'Fall Jewel Dance. Located in the gym at Kyoto Community High School. Admission free to students, $3 to non students. All are welcome.'

Dren looked up.

"What are you saying?" he said.

"Think!" said Tanya, shaking the poster. "Isn't there someone you should be asking to this dance?"

Dren felt his face get hot.

"Tanya! Things between me and Mairead are too weird right now," he said.

"Which is exactly why you need to invite her!" said Tanya.

"I'm not seeing your reasoning behind this," said Dren.

Tanya sighed exaggeratedly and turned to Tarb.

"Shall I explain to him?" she said.

"You'd better," said Tarb.

"Explain what?" asked Dren.

"All right," said Tanya. "You and Mairead have been best friends since childhood, right?"

Dren nodded, wondering where this was going.

"When a boy and a girl are friends since childhood, the following scenario usually occurs. The two hit teenage years and things start to get awkward. They both start to like each other, but neither of them are really sure they know what's happening or how to express it."

"So then things get really awkward," said Tarb. "Because neither of them realize that they're in love and if one of them does, they're afraid of ruining their friendship if they mention it."

"Exactly!" said Tanya. "You and Mairead are going through the same thing right now!"

"And the best way to make it go away is to admit that you're in love with her," said Tarb.

Dren stared at them. The twins had somehow managed to explain every single emotion he was experiencing right now.

"Dren, if you do not call Mairead and ask her to the dance in the next five seconds, then I'm doing it for you," said Tanya.

Dren knew Tanya meant it. He sighed.

"Okay, I'll try," he said.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed. The phone started ringing. He swallowed. Why was his throat so dry all of the sudden? His hands were sweating so bad he thought he was going to drop the phone. He considered for a moment just hanging up but then he heard someone pick up on the other end.

"Hello?"

It was Mairead.

"Hi Mairead. It's Dren."

"Oh hi."

She sounded suddenly awkward. Dren took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Listen Mairead. They're having that fall dance at the school tonight, and I was wondering if you'd—I mean I was wondering if you—"

Tanya stomped on his toe.

"Just say it!" she hissed.

He took a breath.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

There was a short pause.

"I'd love that," she said. "It sounds like fun!"

"Great," said Dren, smiling.

He winked at Tarb and Tanya, who immediately gave each high fives.

"The matchmakers strike again!" said Tanya.

"I'll pick you up at five by the square," Dren said. "See you there."

"See you," said Mairead.

Dren hung up.

"Great job Dren! I knew you could do it!" said Tanya.

"You guys are really pushy sometimes, you know that?" said Dren.

Sunlight streamed through the window, lighting up the study. Dust swirled in the beam the cut through the room. The sunlight danced across the mess of books and papers, dappled by the swaying shadows of leaves just outside.

Leoti was oblivious to this natural ballet, staring at the computer screen. There just had to be some Mew Aqua around here! There just had to!

The screen didn't change, showing a map of Kyoto. Light blinked around the screen. Leoti glanced at the sensors. They were silent. As silent as the grave.

Leoti rubbed her temples. There were too many of those grim sayings. The last thing she needed was to think about graves.

How long had it been? How long since she had been a normal girl? Had it really been fifteen years?

The light danced across the photos on her desk, showing a woman with long black hair and Hispanic features, a big grin across her face. A man stood next to her with white blond hair and a youthful face. The two of them held the hands of a young girl with long blond hair, her face bright with happiness. Leoti looked at the photo sadly.

Rachel. Cody. The only parents she had ever known. And now they were gone. Leoti closed her eyes. She could still see Rachel in her mind, the bright smile and a strength in her features. Cody was a little more blurred, but she could still hear his laugh. The tears pricked at her eyes.

"You're thinking about them, aren't you."

Leoti opened her eyes to see Chantilly standing in the study. It hadn't been a question, but Leoti nodded anyway.

"It still hurts, Chantilly," she said. "I still feel like I could have done something."

"You couldn't," said Chantilly. "No one could have. You did everything you could."

"I know," said Leoti. "But the memories… they sting. Worse than any injury. Everyone's gone, Chantilly. Mrs. Harris, Rachel, Cody, Hailie, Fen, Kelda. I feel so alone."

She clenched her hands.

"Why did I survive when so many people died?" she said. "Is it so I can go on with the knowledge of what is going to happen to those three without being able to do anything about it?"

Chantilly crossed the room in two strides and pulled Leoti into a hug.

"It's okay, Leoti," she said. "Hailie, Fen and Kelda—I can still feel them. They're still alive, somewhere."

Suddenly the screen flashed. Leoti blinked and turned to look at the screen. A dot flashed across the screen, followed by words.

_High level of energy. Unknown source. Danger. Danger. Danger…_

Leoti clicked on the dot and a picture of the radio tower appeared.

"Chantilly, I still don't know how to work this thing," she said. "You upgraded it, you help me."

Chantilly stared at the screen.

"Change to Aura Sensor, Objective 0034," she said clearly.

The screen flashed and looked normal again. But then a dark blue aura laced with fiery red and purple appeared, swirling around the tower like towering doom.

_Towering doom, _Leoti thought darkly. _Towering doom at the radio tower._

"Recognize the aura?" asked Chantilly.

"I think so," Leoti said. "Chantilly. I think its him."

Chantilly didn't have to ask what that meant.

"I'll find Meav and Sardon and we'll go look for the Kyaldians," said Chantilly. "Meet you at the tower in…twenty minutes."

"Find them faster if you can," said Leoti.

_Why did it have to be now?_

Orla drifted back over to the trio.

"Find anything?" asked Tanya.

"Yeah," said Orla, holding up a book.

The black fabric had frayed along the edges and some of the silver embroidery of the moon and stars were wearing. However, the intricate silver clasp shone as though brand new.

"The stall keeper just gave it to me when I opened it," she said. "Starting mumbling things about witchcraft and magic and that no one had ever been able to open it before."

"Weird," said Tanya.

"Yeah," said Orla. "It's not that hard to open. You try and see how easy it is."

Dren took it and touched the clasp. He felt a surge of power and the clasp clicked open.

"There's a lot of power in this book," he said.

"Really?" said Orla.

She took it back and started leafing through it.

"Cool," she said. "There's all kinds of stuff in here."

"Like what?" Dren asked.

Orla seemed about to answer when Kendra ran over to them with Meav and Sardon in tow.

"We have trouble at the radio tower," said Kendra.

"What happened?" asked Dren.

"I have absolutely no idea," said Meav. "But Chantilly seemed really insistent that something was wrong. I caught something about Leoti's brother Toya."

"Leoti-oneesama has a brother?" said Tanya.

"Had," Meav corrected. "She never talks about him. Personally, I think Deep Blue killed him and she blames herself for it. She's always blaming herself for that stuff."

"Um…yeah…" said Sardon.

Dren knew instantly that Sardon knew more than he was telling. But the danger at the radio tower seemed serious and he decided he'd better ask later and not now.

"Okay, let's go. It's faster if we teleport."

They teleported to the radio tower. It looked normal enough, and people were walking around nearby. He couldn't tell anything was wrong.

Chantilly and Leoti were already there. Chantilly was working at a laptop that was balanced on a strange metal tripod that appeared to be coming from the laptop itself.

"Energy readings are skyrocketing!" said Chantilly. "Are the Kyaldians here yet?"

"You'd see them if you just looked up, Chantilly," said Leoti.

Chantilly looked up and saw them.

"Oh. You are here. Well then, get over here and I'll show you what's going on."

The Kyaldians crowded around the screen. Dren gasped. There was a swirling blue aura around the radio tower on the screen. He looked up at the real tower.

Nothing.

He looked back at the screen. That aura was still there.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Aura scanner," said Chantilly. "Auras can't be seen with the naked eye, but with my technology, we can see them quite easily."

She seemed very pleased with herself.

"Okay, so what exactly are we supposed to be doing?" asked Orla.

"Right," said Chantilly.

She zoomed in on the observatory. The aura was deeper and harder to see through here.

"This is the focal point," she said. "We don't know what's up there, but the energy levels are really high. We need you guys to check it out."

Dren thought Chantilly knew exactly what was up there. Why was everyone keeping secrets?

"All right, let's go," said Dren.

"Kyalda Crystal!"

"Kyalda Vine!"

"Kyalda Moon!"

"Kyalda Shadow!"

"Kyalda Wind!"

"METAMORAPHOSIS!"

"Wait!" said Chantilly.

She pulled five sets of goggles from her bag.

"You can use these to see the aura," she said. "I condensed the aura scanners into these."

"Thanks," said Dren.

They all grabbed a pair and headed toward the tower. Dren could hear shocked voices as they headed into the tower.

"It's the Kyaldians!"

"What are they doing here?"

"Is there danger?"

"They all look so young!"

They were in the elevator. Suddenly, a voice boomed in the speakers. It was Leoti.

"Everyone please evacuate the building. Energy levels are unsafe. Please evacuate in a calm orderly manner. Do not use the elevators."

"Sure she tells us that after we're halfway up," said Orla.

"I don't think she meant us," said Tanya.

They were in the observatory. It seemed like Leoti's evacuation request had worked. It was deathly silent and completely still.

"There's nothing here," said Dren. "I can't even feel anything."

"Let's try Chantilly-oneesama's goggles!" said Tanya.

She was already putting on her pair.

"Whoa!" she said.

Dren pulled on his goggles. Suddenly he could see the energy swirling around the room, black, dark blue and icy blue. It was all centering on one spot… right there!

"Do we blast it?" asked Tanya.

"It will absorb the energy," said a voice. Chantilly's voice.

Dren jumped.

"Oh sorry!" said Chantilly's voice. "I forgot to tell you, I put a communicator in your goggles."

"Wish you'd remembered," Dren grumbled.

"What was that about the energy?" asked Kendra.

"If you attack that point, it will just get stronger," said Chantilly.

"So what do we do?"

"Attack the place the energy is coming from, which you'd see if you just turned around."

Dren turned around. The energy was seeping through the walls from no particular point. But suddenly, Dren could see traces of other magic—black and green magic.

"Ren!" said Dren. "And probably Yuuto too!"

"Where are those bakas?" said Orla.

"Right up here," said Ren's voice.

Dren whirled. He could see Ren, but there was a sickly green aura around him laced with fiery red. A black aura swirled around Yuuto, also laced with the fiery red. Was that fiery red a sign of a demon?

"What do you think you're doing?" Dren snapped at the pair.

"Destroying the Kyaldians. What does it look like?" said Ren.

"Yuuto?" said Tanya.

Dren looked sharply at his younger friend. She was looking up at Yuuto with a strange look on her face. Yuuto looked away. Dren thought he saw Yuuto mouth 'enemies.'

Suddenly kirema anima appeared all over the room.

"In the name of Blue," said Orla.

"You might want to be careful about using that name," said Ren, laughing.

"Shut up," Dren said.

"Ribbon Crystal Counter!" Tanya shouted.

Her attack hit an anima and defused it—but two more came to take its place.

"There are so many of them," said Orla.

"This is not good," said Tarb.

"Try fighting your way of this one Kyaldians," said Yuuto. For some strange reason, he said it so halfheartedly.

"Shut up, baka!" Orla shouted.

She zipped into the air and attacked Ren with her swords. He had not expected this and only barely managed to dodge. He pulled out his own pair of swords and the two started fighting.

"Ribbon Windstorm!" Dren shouted.

His wind took out two kirema anima, but more still came.

"This is hopeless!" said Dren.

And in the corners of his eyes, he could see the energy forming a shape…

"Now! Attack the source of the energy now!" Chantilly screamed in his ear.

"But you said not to!"

"Do it now Dren!" she shouted.

Dren whirled.

"Ribbon Windstorm!" he shouted.

The wind hit the shape and blew the energy apart. It instantly started reforming again, but much more slowly.

"Duck!" Chantilly said.

Dren ducked under a kirema anima paw. He whirled and sent wind at the anima, defusing it instantly. Another anima surged up behind him, shooting a blast of water from its fish like head.

"Ribbon Windstorm!" Dren shouted.

This was going to be endless!

"Ribbon…Crystal Copy!" shouted Tanya. "Water Shot!"

Water shot from Tanya's scepter and defused an anima.

"Nice shot," said Dren.

"Thanks," said Tanya. "Water Shot!"

"Vine Strike!" Tarb shouted.

An anima got squeezed by Tarb's vines and defused.

"Moonshine Surge!"

The silver fire defeated another anima.

"Shadow Assault!"

Shadows consumed yet another anima. Dren didn't know how long they were fighting, but it felt like forever. And no matter what they did, more anima seemed to appear. Would this ever end?

Suddenly Dren bumped up against the others from behind.

"We're trapped," said Orla, panting. "Moonshine Surge!"

kirema anima were surrounding them on all sides. One fell back from Orla's fire, but it was instantly replaced.

"Guess you couldn't handle it all," said Yuuto.

"Shut up!" said Dren.

"I hate to admit it," said Orla, blocking an attack. "But he's right. We can't handle this much."

"We have to try," said Dren. "Ribbon Windstorm!"

"We need help," said Kendra. "Ribbon Shadow Assault!"

"But there isn't anyone to help!" said Tanya.

She defused another anima with her copying move.

"We need Kyalda," she said.

Tarb's eyes had lit up.

"Well," said Tarb. "I don't know about Kyalda, but I think I can get us some help."

Tarb pulled out a silver whistle.

"Why didn't I think of that?" said Tanya.

"What is it?" asked Dren.

Tarb answer by blowing the whistle as hard as he could. Dren couldn't hear a thing. Tarb blew it two more times, then pocketed it and sent vines at another anima.

"What was that for?" asked Kendra.

"To even the score," said Tarb.

"Your stupid whistle didn't work!" Yuuto said. "It's broken, just like you will be—"

A screech cut off Yuuto's words.

"I know that screech," said Dren.

Illishar burst through the ranks of the kirema anima, slashing at them with his deadly claws. He rammed the anima with his beak. Total chaos ensued. All of the kirema anima were distracted by this new enemy and lost their focus on the Kyaldians.

But the effect of Tarb's whistle didn't stop there. Three more Treegriffs joined the fight, dealing heavy damage with their hooves, claws and beaks. A few crystal otters scurried under the feet of the kirema anima. They transformed into crystalline versions of the anima and began to fight. Two silver winged unicorns soared into the fray, slashing with their horns and hooves. A huge black dragon stuck its head through the window and snapped up one of the anima.

"All right! Nice going Tarb!" said Orla.

Ren appeared behind her and swiped at her. She ducked easily under his attack and returned it.

"Go away baka!" she yelled at him.

Dren zoomed in to help her. They alternated taking Ren's attack and attacking him back. Suddenly, Orla froze. Ren darted in. Dren quickly blocked the move and twisted the sword from Ren's hands.

"I feel it," said Orla. "It's like the moon, but softer…"

Orla walked to the edge of the platform and took off.

"I don't think so, Moon-chan," said Ren, appearing from nowhere.

Dren crashed into him.

"I won't let you stop her!" he said. "Everyone, we need to back Orla up!"

"Ribbon Crystal Moonshine Surge!" shouted Tanya, hitting both Yuuto and Ren.

"Vine Strike!" shouted Tarb.

"Shadow Assault!" shouted Kendra.

Suddenly Yuuto's dagger punctured Dren's arm. He grabbed it and pulled it out, but the poison had already gotten into his system. Pain like fire coursed through him and he was sure he was screaming even though he couldn't hear it. He dropped from the air.

_DREN!_

"DREN!"

Voices rang in his ears and mind. He couldn't see. He could tell he was falling, but his wings refused to open. Everything was blurry. Something blue surged up to meet him and he started going up instead of down.

"Blue Nymph?" he mumbled.

Blue Nymph landed gently on the platform and set Dren down.

"KYALDA ROD!"

Silver light completely surrounded the tower.

"Ribbon…. Kyalda Drops!"

Orla twirled into the air, spreading the bubbles around the air. The sky burst into silver light, as though the moon had come from nowhere. The light shone on Dren and the pain vanished. He sat up slowly. Blue Nymph was still standing in front of him.

"Thank you," he said.

Blue Nymph smiled slightly. Why was that smile so familiar?

Suddenly a dagger zipped toward them. Blue Nymph saw it first. She stepped in front of Dren and it grazed against her arm. She winced.

"No, you're injured!" said Dren.

Blue Nymph was breathing heavily.

"I'll protect you," she said.

Then she vanished. Dren stared at the place she had been. What if she was seriously injured? Orla landed on the platform and shot the bubbles at the kirema anima. All of the anima defused. Ren appeared.

"Kolora was right," he said. "You are tough. But watch out for next time."

"There won't be a next time!" Orla said.

Ren smirked and vanished. Yuuto glared at the Kyaldians and vanished too.

"You did it Orla!"

Tanya gave Orla a big hug and they both fell over.

"Whoa, easy on the enthusiasm," said Orla.

Kendra laughed. Orla pushed Tanya off and sat up. The staff shrank into the key charm.

Dren felt like he was forgetting something. What was it? It hit him suddenly.

"Oh no, what time is it?"

Orla blinked.

"It's about six. Why?"

"Dang, I'm late!"

Dren transformed back to normal.

"Hurry Dren!" said Tanya.

"Yeah, you'd better get a move on," said Tarb.

"Am I the only one that's confused?" asked Orla.

"Ask Tarb and Tanya," said Dren.

Dren ran down the street. Rain was starting to fall, pattering against the ground. No one seemed to pay much attention to him as he weaved around them. He heard people talking about the Kyaldians but he didn't listen.

_Please still be there, Mairead._


	17. Chapter 16: Love Eternal

We last saw Dren running down the rain soaked street, hoping that Mairead was still waiting. Will she still be there? Or is their relationship over forever?

MUAHAHAHA I'M SO EVIL! Or maybe not… Doesn't this situation sound familiar?

Dren skidded to a stop at the square. He couldn't see anyone. Was Mairead still there? He peered through the sheets of rain.

No one was there. Mairead hadn't waited.

And why should she have? It had been an hour, and the rain was coming down like crazy. He took a deep breath.

"I'll just go home," he said.

"Dren…"

Dren whirled. Mairead was standing there, watching him.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was really late, and I—"

Dren walked over to her in two strides and pulled her into a hug.

"I thought you had gone home," he said. "I got stuck at the tower battling and I thought you would just go home."

Mairead didn't say anything. She trembled from cold in his arms and Dren squeezed her tighter, as though he could warm her up.

"You're freezing," he said.

"No I'm not," Mairead whispered. "You're warming me up. In my heart."

Then she buried her face in his chest and started to cry. Dren just stood there, holding her, feeling like he would never let go.

"Mairead…" said Dren. "Can I…can I stop being your childhood friend?" (MUAHAHA I STOLE THIS LINE FROM TOKYO MEW MEW A LA MODE!)

Mairead looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked slowly.

Dren swallowed. He had to tell her.

"I love you Mairead," he said. "I don't want to ever leave you."

Mairead didn't answer him, but he could feel her shaking against him.

"Mairead?"

She was crying again, sobbing against him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

He started to pull away. Mairead clung to him tighter.

"Don't let go," she said. "Don't ever let me go. Don't leave me."

Dren stayed with her in the rain. She kept crying, her tears mingling with the rain.

"Me too," she whispered finally. "I love you too. I just didn't know how to say it."

"Mairead…"

Mairead looked up, the tears stopping. They stared at each other for a long time. Then on an impulse, Dren leaned down and kissed her.

They broke apart.

"Well," he said. "We still have a few hours left if you still want to go to the dance."

"Let's go," said Mairead.

The dance had already started when the couple arrived.

"Finally! I thought you'd never come!"

Orla walked over to them from the crowd. She was wearing a short silver dress with a tight ribbon tied around the waist. A bow poofed out behind her.

"You look weird in a dress," said Dren.

Orla stuck her tongue out at him.

"You don't look much better," she said. "You're both wetter than a sea serpent."

Kendra marched over to them, Bryn, Kokoro and Rikuto trailing behind.

"Sorry Dren, but we can't let you two be together just yet," she said. "Mairead, come on."

She dragged a protesting Mairead away with her.

"You come with us," Bryn said to Dren.

"Wait, where are we going?" Dren asked.

"You'll see," said Bryn, winking.

He waved at Tarb and Tanya sitting in the instrumental area. Tanya was holding a lyre and Tarb was sitting in front of a bunch of floating crystal balls.

"Tarb plays the Spherical?" said Dren.

"Yep," said Bryn. "Apparently he's been practicing since school started and that's what he was hiding from us that first day."

It all seemed so long ago. Bryn kept dragging Dren along.

"Where are you taking me?" Dren said again.

"You'll see," Bryn said again.

Tanya waited impatiently.

"They're taking a really long time," she said.

"Relax," said Tarb. "We still have to play."

"I know, but we can't play our special song until Dren and Mairead come out!" she said.

Tarb rolled his eyes.

"Hey look, there's Mairead!"

Mairead came out of the dressing room with Kendra, Orla and Kokoro. Mairead was now wearing a long powder blue dress decorated with blue fabric roses. The sleeves and skirt were long and Kendra was still working on pulling back the sides of Mairead's hair into a crown shape.

"And there's Dren, too!" said Tanya.

Dren was wearing a white dress shirt and black pants. The light of his Eversphere blended into the white of his shirt, making it look as though he was only wearing a copper ring.

Dren and Mairead saw each other at the same and they both blushed.

"Victory!" Tanya said, punching the air.

"We'd better start playing that song," said Tarb.

"Right!" said Tanya.

Tanya pulled a few strings on her lyre to check the tune, then waited for Tarb to start the song. Tarb touched a few of the tiny crystal balls as though they were keys on a piano and music fell from them like rain. Tanya picked up on the melody instantly. She could tell when Dren and Mairead recognized the music.

Tanya had picked the song especially for them: it was Summer Rain, Mairead's favorite song and the one that had gotten her into the choir every year.

Kendra and Bryn shoved Dren and Mairead out onto the dance floor. After an awkward glance at each other, they started dancing.

"Mission accomplished!" Tanya whispered.

Tarb smiled slightly but kept his concentration on the song. He was playing almost the whole thing on the Spherical, even the vocals. Sphericals were a strange instrument, few people could learn to play it and they could make almost any musical sound possible. It wasn't known how it worked. Tanya thought it was magic.

Finally, the song ended. Tanya played the last part and the dancers slowly twirled to a stop. Tarb leaned back, taking a deep breath.

"There's never any break when you play the Spherical," he grumbled.

"You didn't have to try and learn to play it," Tanya said. "The fact you can is amazing!"

Tarb managed a grin.

"Thanks Tanya," he said. "Uh-oh, the lovebirds are going outside."

"That's not a bad thing," said Tanya. "It stopped raining."

"That's not what I'm worried about," said Tarb. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Oh stop being so serious," said Tanya, punching him playfully on the shoulder. "Let's go get something to eat."

(Starfireelf15: There are so many asterisks in this chapter!)

Dren and Mairead walked out into the gardens.

"Doesn't seem too long ago when we came in here and you told me about being a Kyaldian," said Mairead. "On the other hand, it feels like ages."

"I know," said Dren. "It's weird."

He took Mairead's hand in his own and squeezed it.

"Dren," she said. "When I was in that fortuneteller's tent before, she told me to hang onto someone. I asked her who, but I knew who it was."

She leaned against Dren.

"It was you Dren. She wanted me to hang on to you."

She was trembling.

"Please don't leave me Dren."

Dren put his arm around her shoulder.

"I won't. I promise," he said. "I love you too much to let you go."

Mairead stopped trembling. She huddled close to Dren.

"I've been having these dreams lately," she said. "I keep seeing you. But you're—different somehow. Then I see this girl. She's about our age and she has red pigtails. And then—"

She shuddered.

"What happens?" asked Dren softly.

"I see you again, and you're kissing her," said Mairead. "I'm afraid."

Dren turned Mairead around to face him and kissed her firmly.

"Mairead," he said. "I love you. I promise that I won't kiss anyone else."

He could see the fear in her eyes.

"Please," she said quietly.

Dren knew what she meant. He leaned in and kissed her again. They held there for a moment.

"Well isn't this sweet. Two lovebirds, all alone."

Dren and Mairead broke apart and Dren whirled around.

Kolora was standing at the entrance to the hedge maze.

"How adorable," she said. "You two are just totally in love with each other, aren't you?"

"Go away, Kolora," said Dren. "I don't feel like beating you today."

"Cocky, aren't we?"

Two kirema anima appeared from the maze, looking like giant wolves and growling at the pair. Dren pushed Mairead behind him protectively.

"Just let me take care of this," said Dren. "You try and get the others."

Mairead didn't ask questions. She backed away slowly towards the door, keeping her eyes on the giant wolves. Dren held out his Eversphere.

"Kyalda Wind! METAMORPHOSES!"

He transformed.

"Wind Sais! Ribbon Windstorm!"

The attack hit both kirema wolves. Only one defused.

"Ribbon Windstorm!" he shouted again.

The wind clipped the wolf's shoulder as it tried to dodge. It fell into a crouch, growling. Dren raised his sais to finish it.

"Ribbon—"

Suddenly Mairead screamed behind him.

"Dren look out!"

Something big slammed into his back, throwing the sais from his hands and pinning him to the ground. Another one?

Mairead screamed again. Dren could see the other kirema wolf leaping towards the place where Mairead's voice had been.

"MAIREAD! RUN!" Dren shouted.

Suddenly Mairead appeared in his sight line. She was in the air as though she had jumped and came landing gently on the ground.

"Dren!" she shouted.

"Mairead! Go get the others!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"You can't fight these things!"

The kirema wolf advanced on her.

"Mairead! RUN!"

The kirema wolf that had pinned him raised one massive paw above him, preparing to strike.

"Dren!" Mairead screamed.

Then the world exploded into a mass of fiery blue light.

_What's going on?_

"Blue Nymph! METAMORPHOSES!"

Mairead was right at the center of the light—and she was changing. Her hair was growing longer and straightening, changing from red to yellow. Her dress grew and darkened into a dark blue that Dren had seen somewhere before…

Her eyes opened and they were a fierce icy blue.

It was the Blue Nymph.

Blue Nymph pulled her bow from the folds of her cloak, pulled out an arrow and drew the string back. The arrow went flying in a haze of water, lodging itself between the kirema wolf's eyes.

The kirema lurched back off of Dren. Blue Nymph took advantage of its lost focus and attacked with her sword.

"Indigo Tsunami Blade!" she shouted.

She swung her sword down and a huge wave of water slammed into the anima. It howled and defused. Blue Nymph let her sword clatter to the ground and she ran over to Dren.

"Dren, are you okay?"

It was Mairead's voice.

"You're…the Blue Nymph?" Dren said slowly.

Blue Nymph nodded. But now Dren could see Mairead in her face and it was clear as day.

"Then you've been the one saving me!" said Dren.

Mairead nodded again.

"I was really happy that I could help you," she said. "But when I became Blue Nymph, I started having that dream. And worse, I started to get these weird flashbacks that can't possibly be my memories."

"Mairead?"

"Save the lovey-dovey stuff for later, this isn't finished yet," said Kolora. "Go, kirema anima!"

Two more kirema wolves appeared.

"Mairead, we have to work together for this!" said Dren.

Mairead nodded and turned to face the kirema anima.

"Tsunami Blade! Return!"

The sword she had left of the ground turned into water and surged towards her. It transformed back into a sword in her hand.

"Wind Sais!" Dren shouted.

The kirema wolves attacked. Dren blew the first back and Mairead hit another with a wave of water. The anima fell back and circled, trying to find a way in. Without warning, one jumped forward. Dren blocked the attack, but he wasn't ready for the next one.

"Dren!"

Dren's sais started burning hot in his hands and he nearly dropped them. Light burned in his eyes and forced the anima back. Mairead's sword was glowing as well. Words were forming in Dren's head.

"Tsunami Wing Blade!" he shouted.

A long blade appeared in his hands, a sapphire winking where the blade and the hilt met. The hilt was formed by two outstretched wings like the Wing Sword.

"What is this?" Dren said.

The hilt was super long and the blade was so heavy he could barely lift it. How would he be able to use it?

A thought came to him. It was called the Tsunami Wing Blade…

"Mairead! I need your help!"

Mairead was at his side in a moment, her hands clutching the end of the sword. Together they were able to lift the blade.

"Ribbon…" they said together. "Tsunami Storm!"

A storm of wind and water burst from the sword, blowing into the kirema anima and defusing them instantly. Kolora was pushed back. She might have died in the force of the attack, but she vanished just in time. The sword vanished.

"We did it!" said Dren.

Suddenly, he felt very weak. He slowly sank towards the ground. Mairead caught him and transformed back to normal.

"Dren? Dren!"

Dren blacked out.

Starfireelf15's comments: BLUE NYMPH HAS BEEN REVEALED! MUAHAHAHA! So Blue Nymph is Mairead. Those of you who have finished the Tokyo Mew Mew series, you'll probably be able to guess at why Mairead is having weird flashbacks. Okay, so Dren and Mairead are happy together, but what about Mairead's strange dream? Does ANYBODY recognize my description of the red haired girl? And yes, I understand that these things are happening EXACTLY as they did in Tokyo Mew Mew. There's a very important reason for this, so don't hurt me! Don't worry, the mews are going to appear in the very next chapter! Stay tuned for the next episode: To Find an Ally…


	18. Chapter 17: To Find An Ally

Recap: Last time, Dren and Mairead confessed their love for each other and went to the dance. They were attacked by Kolora and Mairead was revealed as the Blue Nymph. But now Dren has blacked out and a new plot is unfolding in his dreams…

A single candle lit the room. Darkness hovered on the edge of the pool of light, as though waiting for a chance to steal away the tiny flame. Six sat around the round table on which the candle stood.

The first was a large burly man with a big brown beard and narrow brown eyes. He was dressed in red finery trimmed with gold. The second was a woman in her prime, with dark ebony skin and angled eyebrows like a cat. Her calm gold eyes were framed by her raven hair and a golden circlet rested on her head.

The next two sat close to each other, fingers twined tightly together. The first of the pair was a teenage boy with shaggy brown hair. His gold eyes were an almond shape, and though he looked youthful, he had the look of one who has had to grow up suddenly. The girl next to him seemed to glow in the candlelight with her golden hair and white dress. Her youthful face and eyes were worried and she tightened her grip on the boy's hand.

The next was a young man with bright red hair and the beginnings of a beard. His blue eyes were suspicious, darting around to each person at the table. The final figure was an ancient Cyniclon with more wrinkles than an old dress. Her scraggly gray hair fell around her face, and her pale blue eyes looked out of place among the rest of her dull coloring. She was muttering under her breath and fiddling with a deck of cards on the table. (SF: Yes, it is the fortuneteller from the boardwalk in chapter one.)

"I still believe we must gather our forces together and strike!" said the brown bearded man. "We must strike now, while the sorceress is weak!"

"You are a fool, Kamil," the old Cyniclon said bluntly. "Even when Azulda is weak she's a formidable enemy."

"Your people have not had to fight the witch!" the red haired man said. "How would you know of her powers?"

"I know what the cards say, and the cards don't lie," the old fortuneteller said.

"You and your witchcraft," the brown bearded man, Kamil said. "You're as bad as _her_."

"You were quite eager for my skills when she was attacking the Marble City," the fortuneteller said. "I would have thought you learned when the City fell. Azulda cannot be defeated by brute force."

"You may have helped us," said the red haired man. "But the City still fell. I lost many men. And your tribe? The tribes of Northern and Southern Teros stayed hidden in their forests!"

The fortuneteller bristled.

"I cannot speak for all the tribes!" she said. "We are separate from each other. You should be happy I convinced them to let me come!"

"Hinda, Lamar, Kamil! Keep your claws sheathed."

The dark skinned elf was the one to speak.

"We are here to form an alliance, not to push each other farther apart!" she said. "We must work together to defeat the goddess. It is her wish to have us at each others throats!"

The teenage boy nodded.

"My feelings exactly, Pallas-dono," he said.

His voice was weary, as thought he had seen too much for his age.

"Ah yes. You're Prince Jun," said the red haired man, Lamar.

He had fixed his gaze on the young man.

"I wasn't too sure about this when I heard you were coming to this meeting," he said. "There are rumors about you."

"I know these rumors," said Jun. "But Lamar-dono, let me assure you that they are unfounded."

"How can we be sure?" Lamar said.

"Shut up if you know what's good for you, Lamar," said the fortuneteller Hinda angrily. "Don't you know what this boy has been through?"

Something stirred in Jun's lap. Something purple and furry leapt from his lap and onto the table. It was a purple rabbit with a long tufted tail and a golden U on its forehead.

It was Anzu.

"A Napajit!" Pallas whispered.

Anzu watched all of them with his big blue eyes. He did not speak, but he watched carefully.

"We have to decide on a course of action," the young golden haired girl said softly.

Jun smiled at her, becoming for a moment the young boy he should have become.

"Yes, Artemis-chan," he said.

Their eyes met and there was love in their eyes.

"If we gather together as one, we may be able to defeat the witch!" said Kamil.

"When will you idiots start saying her name?" Hinda snapped. "And we have already determined that brute force won't work."

"Then what do you suggest?" Lamar said angrily.

"Stealth and cunning," Hinda said. "Send a small group into Darkasia with a distraction at the front. Then destroy Azulda from the inside."

"How small are you suggesting?" Kamil shot at her.

But Hinda had suddenly stiffened.

"Six."

"You cannot possibly mean that!" Kamil roared. "That is too few—"

"Silence!" Anzu said suddenly.

Shock registered in Kamil's face and he quieted.

"It talks—"

"She is giving a prophecy!" Anzu said.

"Wind, Crystal, Vine, Moon, Shadow and Water," said Hinda in a monotone voice.

The whole room was silent. Hinda looked through all of them, as though she was in another place and time. The candle flickered eerily.

"Of those who know, three will go.

To find an ally no one knows

Without this ally, they will fail

The evil one will prevail."

The candle turned blue and jumped higher than should be possible. There were gasps and some slight shouts. Anzu snapped at everyone to be quiet.

"Vine, Wind and Thunder as well

Return to a world where time will tell

If they succeed and find the five

Then they will win and stay alive.

The wave of darkness shall fall away

And once again will light win the day."

The flame seemed to consume the entire room with light—then faded. The candle flame flickered as it had been before. Hinda slumped in her chair, eyes closed.

Artemis broke from Jun to run to her. She touched Hinda's forehead and shook her head, murmuring softly to the old fortuneteller.

The dream started to break up. The voices and images faded away into the darkness…

Dren opened his eyes. Mairead was staring down at him.

"Dren!" she said, "Are you okay?"

Dren tried to sit up and he instantly felt dizzy. He lied back down again.

"What hit me?" he groaned.

"You fainted from a excess of energy," said Leoti's voice. "You weren't ready for that kind of power yet."

Dren tried to sit up again, much more slowly. Mairead helped him prop himself up on pillows.

"Oh, is he awake?" said Orla, peeking into the room.

"Yes," said Anzu.

Anzu.

"I had a dream," said Dren. "Anzu was in it."

Leoti seemed suddenly interested. Anzu stopped licking himself.

"What was your dream about?" Leoti asked.

"It was weird. There were a bunch of people talking."

He explained it as best he could.

"Come to think of it, that fortuneteller Hinda looked a lot like the one at the boardwalk," said Dren. "Except she wasn't blind."

"It is," said Anzu.

The other Kyaldians had come into the room while Dren was telling his story and now they all stared at Anzu.

Leoti nodded.

"You dreamed about a real event," said Leoti. "That was the First Council of Old Earth."

"Old Earth was nearly three million years ago!" said Orla. "There's no possible way anyone could live that long!"

Anzu 'hmpfed' and turned his back on everyone, starting to clean himself again.

"What? What did I say?" Orla said.

"Napajits are a bit sensitive about their age," said Leoti, sweatdropping. "Anyway, the First Council of Old Earth was formed to make an alliance between the countries of that time."

"We learned about that in history class," said Kendra. "There was Verity, Darkasia, Sealand, Northern and Southern Teros, Winglas, Pampas and Angland. But none of those countries exist today."

"They exist, but under different names," said Leoti. "But that's beside the point. At that time, Azulda was raging across Old Earth."

"Stop saying that name!" Meav said.

"Azulda?" said Dren. "I've heard that name before."

"Yeah," said Orla. "Some people were saying I was her reincarnation."

She rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, that's the book that made Mairead faint," said Dren. "Remember?"

Mairead shook her head.

"To tell the truth, that whole thing is kind of fuzzy to me."

"Hm."

Dren stared at the ceiling, thinking.

"So what about that prophecy?"

He thought a moment.

"I can't really remember it very well," he said.

"Six," said Anzu instantly.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

"Wind, Vine, Crystal, Moon, Shadow and Water," he recited. "Of those who know, three will go, to find an ally no one knows. Without this ally, they will fail. The evil one will prevail. Vine, Wind and Thunder as well, return to a world where time will tell. If they succeed and find the five, then they will win and stay alive. The wave of darkness shall fall away, and once again will light win the day."

There was a short silence.

"You can still remember that after three million years?" said Orla.

Anzu glared at her and turned his back on everyone again.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" said Orla.

Anzu sighed.

"You didn't know. It's all right."

Leoti glanced at him.

"Anzu, you have some kind of imagery powers yourself. What images do you see when you hear those words?" she asked.

"The first sentence is easy enough to figure out," said Anzu. "Wind, Vine, Crystal, Moon, Shadow and Water. Obviously referring to the Kyaldians."

"Right," said Tarb. "Even I can see that."

"So then the next part," said Anzu. " 'Of those who know, three will go to find an ally no one knows.' That's when I see the ally you are supposed to find."

"Who is it?" asked Dren.

Anzu flicked his tail.

"I have no idea," he said. "All I get are images. I can see five silhouettes and only one is clear enough to see some detail. It's a girl with pink hair and a pink dress and cat ears."

Dren recognized the description instantly. He dug in his pocket and pulled out the folded drawing of the crying girl.

"Does she look anything like this?" he asked.

Anzu studied the drawing for a moment and nodded.

"An exact likeness," he said. "Where have you seen her before?"

"In my dreams," said Dren. "Ever since my dad disappeared."

Anzu seemed to consider this for a moment.

"Well in the next part 'Wind, Vine and Thunder as well return to a world where time will tell,' I see Earth as I remember it from three million years ago. Then I see you, Dren, and Tarb and Sardon. Wind, Vine and Thunder."

Sardon, who hadn't seemed very interested in this conversation beforehand, suddenly let a flare of shock appear on his face.

"But I'm not a Kyaldian anymore," he said slowly, trying to regain his composure.

Anzu shrugged.

"That's who I see," he said. "You three are the ones that have to go."

"But what about us?" Tanya said suddenly. "Why can I go? Why can't Orla, Kendra or Mairead go?"

"Because the prophecy says you're not supposed to go," said Anzu. "Prophecies must be followed."

"That's not fair!" said Tanya. "I want to go too!"

"It will be dangerous," said Leoti.

"That's why I need to go!" said Tanya. "Tarb will probably mess things up without my help!"

"Hey!" said Tarb.

"I don't think it's right," said Kendra. "Separating Mairead and Dren at this stage."

Dren glanced at Mairead. She was looking kind of pale.

He squeezed her hand.

"It's okay," he said.

"But my dream," she whispered.

"We don't have much a choice," said Leoti. "Things are moving much faster than I expected."

She stood up and walked to the window.

"I said that I didn't know what was happening during the tower attack," she said. "The truth is, I knew exactly what was happening. Deep Blue was trying to wake up without his host."

"_What_?"

Everyone spoke at once. Leoti held up a hand for silence. She waited for them to quiet down before continuing.

"He was easily stopped without the power of his true host," she said. "But he might decide to wake up again. You need to find this ally before he does."

"What about Azulda?" Dren asked.

"I don't know where her host is," Leoti said. "But I do know where Deep Blue's host is."

She pointed to the blinked computer screen.

"We found his signal in Tokyo, Japan. Modern Earth."

Dren, Tarb and Sardon stood in the center of a circle drawn on the ground.

"Dren, please don't go," Mairead said.

Dren knew his face matched Mairead's worried expression. He squeezed her hand.

"I have to go," he said. "I have to find this ally so we can defeat Deep Blue."

"But what if you're in trouble?" Mairead said. "I don't know if I'll be able to come for you when you're so far away."

She looked at Leoti, who was preparing to open the dimensional vortex.

"I mean, look at how much work it's taking just to send you three there," Mairead said. "I know I won't be able to come for you. And my dream has been more vivid!"

Dren leaned in and kissed Mairead.

"I love you Mairead," said Dren. "That's why I will come back. That's why I will stay safe."

They stared into each other's eyes.

"I will always love you and no one else," said Dren. "We're crossed together too tightly to break apart."

"But…" Mairead said. "I'm afraid."

Dren hugged her.

"I am too," he said. "I am too."

They kissed one more time, then broke apart. Mairead stepped out of the circle, worry in her eyes.

"Make sure you come back," said Kendra. "If you leave Mairead an old spinster I'll never forgive you."

"Kendra!" said Mairead, flushing.

"Tarb, if you get into trouble, I swear I'm going to kill you," said Tanya.

She sounded tough, but Dren could see the tears in her eyes.

"Don't you make me be a matchmaker all by myself, ototo-san," she said.

"For the last time Tanya," Tarb mumbled. "You're not older than me."

Tanya wiped at her eyes.

"Maybe while you're on this adventure, you'll find a girlfriend," she said, attempting to smile.

"Tanya!" Tarb said, flushing.

Tanya squeezed her eyes shut to hold back her tears.

"Bye, ototo-san," she said.

Tarb let the nickname go.

"I promise I'll come back," he said. "I won't let you have all the fun of being a matchmaker by yourself."

Tanya smiled through her tears.

Orla was hugging her father so tightly if looked like Sardon was having trouble breathing.

"Stay safe, dad," Orla said. "Don't leave me alone for long."

"I promise," said Sardon. "I will come back as soon as I can."

Orla seemed to be holding back tears. She stepped out of the circle.

"Stay safe, Kyaldians," said Leoti.

There was something hidden in her tone. Dren felt suddenly uneasy.

"Dren?"

Dren blinked. Leoti was watching him.

"Look for Ichigo Momomiya," she said. "She's the one you need to find."

Leoti knew the girl's name?

"I can't say much more, but…" she said. "Hold on to Mairead in your head. Keep her in your mind throughout the transfer. It might...make things easier."

Dren nodded.

"I will."

Leoti nodded as well.

"Good luck."

The circle drawn on the ground started to glow. A huge dome spread over the three Cyniclons within the circle.

"Dren! Don't forget Mairead!" Leoti shouted over the rush of the magic.

The dome burst into light and Dren closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was in a bubble of Leoti's amber magic, floating in darkness.

"We're in the dimension vortex," said Sardon. "Strange. It's never been this dark before."

"You've been in the dimension vortex before?" said Tarb.

Suddenly Dren's Eversphere got warm. Three shadows appeared in corners of his eyes. He opened his mouth to warn Sardon and Tarb, but a hand came over his mouth.

"Sleep tight Windy," Kolora hissed.

Dren blacked out.

"Ichigo! Ichigo!" Masha said. "There's an alien!"

"Huh?" said Ichigo.

"There's an alien!" Masha repeated.

Ichigo took the little puffball in her hands.

"You're saying it again!" she said exasperatedly. "Didn't you make a mistake yesterday?"

"But there is, there is!" Masha insisted.

"Is this thing broken?" Ichigo said, shaking Masha gently.

"There is!" someone said.

"Eh?"

Ichigo looked around.

"I just wanted to check out the people who were ruining our plans," the voice continued. "But you're actually pretty cute."

Ichigo looked up. Someone was standing on the roof of the house next to her. Ichigo barely had time to register this fact when the shadow swooped down. She felt lips on hers.

She blinked, still in shock and unable to react.

He broke away.

"Who the heck are you?" Ichigo said.

It was a weird guy with big ears, dark green hair and creepy yellow eyes.

"My name is Kish," he said. "Thanks for the kiss."

Ichigo touched her lips. It was slowly sinking in that he had just kissed her.

"I…I…"

"Take it as my greeting for today," said Kish.

He floated back into the air and disappeared.

"Ichigo! Ichigo!" said Masha.

Somewhere far away, Mairead woke up in a cold sweat.

"DREN!" she screamed.

Starfireelf15's comments: And there you are! The mews are finally in the story! Yes, I did mean to have him say his name was Kish; it is not a typo. This is going to get pretty confusing, but it sure is exciting! See what happens to our former Kyaldians and their friends in the next episode: Butterflies Really Are Freaky…


	19. 18: Butterflies Really ARE Freaky

"What?"

Mairead nodded numbly.

"Why on Earth would Dren kiss someone besides you?" said Orla. "He totally loves you!"

Tanya and Kendra nodded.

"I know when Dren is in trouble," Mairead said. "And I could tell something was wrong. It was almost like he—like he forgot me."

"Completely impossible," said Orla.

"But if Mairead thinks Dren is in trouble…" said Kendra.

"Then that means all three of them probably are," Tanya finished.

"And that means we have to go after them," said Orla.

"I'm not sure that's possible," said Leoti.

They all turned around. Mairead hadn't noticed Leoti come into the room.

"Why not?" Orla asked heatedly.

"I don't have the kind of power to take all of us through a dimension tunnel," said Leoti. "I had to draw off of strength stored in an emerald and there's no more left."

She sighed.

"To send us all to the dimension, I'd need to have a full moon and there won't be one for another month."

Orla sat bolt upright.

"You need a full moon?" she said.

"Orla, can you do something about it?" Kendra said.

"I can definitely arrange a full moon off schedule," said Orla. "Just give me a date."

Leoti smiled suddenly.

"Let's figure out who all is going first."

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Kendra. "Us four Kyaldians!"

Leoti shook her head.

"You're not going without me," said Leoti. "And there are several people eavesdropping outside who I think want to go too."

"You got that right!"

Bryn marched in the room with Rikuto and Kokoro.

"You're not going without me, Kendra," said Bryn. "And don't even think about arguing!"

Kendra grumbled slightly. Leoti grinned.

"Looks like everyone who knows about the Kyaldians is tagging along. I know for a fact that Meav, Erinda and Chantilly have been bugging me about going after them."

"Finally, let's go against a prophecy!" said Tanya.

"I don't think this is the greatest idea, but I'm coming too," said Anzu.

"Well, let's do this," said Mairead. "When are we leaving?"

"When can you get us a full moon?" Leoti asked Orla.

Orla grinned.

"Tonight."

Kish floated in another dimension, thinking.

Ichigo was such a feisty little kitty. Still, she was fun to play with. He smiled, remembering her angry face when he had attacked her the last time. Suddenly, images and blurred voices forced their way unbidden into his mind.

"_Dren!"_

A red haired girl smiled at him. Her smile made him so happy…

"_Dren! Don't forget Mairead!"_

Kish's eyes snapped open. He shoved the images and voices away. They meant nothing to him.

But…

What were they? Were they really his memories?

"You're being stupid, Kish," he said out loud.

"Hey Kish!"

Kish looked up. Taruto was floating nearby.

"Pai wants us to see something," he said.

Kish glared at Taruto. He was still a bit sore at having Taruto and Pai replace him. It gave him less chances to mess with Ichigo. They hadn't even battled the mews yet!

"What is it this time?" he said.

Taruto shrugged.

"No idea."

Kish followed Taruto to where Pai was standing. He was tapping keys on the control panel. The screen was floating in front of him, showing the park. The park was dark; the sun had just gone down.

"What is it, Pai?" Kish said.

Pai glanced at them and looked back at the screen.

"There are extremely high energy readings. There shouldn't be anything this big here."

"And this worries us because why?" said Kish.

Pai was about to answer, but suddenly the sky changed. It had been a new moon just a second ago, but suddenly it turned full. The energy readers at the corners of the screen started flashing dangerously.

"It's off the charts," Pai muttered.

Silver light filled the park. Then just as suddenly the light vanished. The moon went back to normal and the energy readings dropped. But the park wasn't back to normal. There was a giant group of people standing where the light had been. They appeared to be talking, but Pai's computer couldn't pick up the voices.

Suddenly, a girl in the middle raised a hand holding something shiny and the whole group vanished.

Pai pressed a button and view changed to thermal. It appeared to be that the group was still there, but—

Invisible?

They moved off of the screen view and vanished from the sensors.

"What was that all about?" Kish said.

"Who cares?" Tarb said.

Pai remained silent, still pressing buttons on the control panel.

Kish couldn't help but feel that something was happening. And whatever it was, he couldn't be sure if it was good or bad.

"Whoa!"

"This is totally amazing!"

"How long have you had a house on Earth?"

"Shop," Leoti corrected. "It's a shop."

The room was lit by strange looking torches. The fire hovered above the brackets in an unflickering sphere and threw the room into light. A counter blocked off the back of the shop. Behind the counter were two doors, one painted orange and the other brown. Between the doors was a small cabinet. The counter top was covered in papers, notebooks, pencils, quills, and small baskets filled with odds and ends.

The walls that didn't have windows were stuffed with bookshelves that reached to the ceiling. Some shelves were packed with books: bound in different colored fabrics with metal clasps, or more modern paperbacks and hard covers, and a bunch with strange lettering. A few were even chained to the bookshelf.

"Are you really worried about someone stealing those?" Orla asked, pointing at some of the chained books. "I mean, no one can really find this place anyway since you made it unplottable."

"No, I'm more worried about them running away and wreaking havoc," said Leoti, not even looking up from a small brown diary she was reading.

Orla glanced a bit apprehensively at the chained books and moved away from them.

Books weren't the only things on the shelves. There were stacks of cards, a pile of different colored balls, and a silver and white sphere with a button on the front.

A table sat in the center of the room. It was covered in jewelry and a few extremely thick books with intricate clasps. Orla walked away from the shelves to take a look at the jewelry. It was mainly necklaces: different colored shells with wings, a silver medallion with a knight on it, a necklace with a tiny unicorn horn on it, and two keys (one topped with a bird head and the other with a star). There were also a few bracelets and a small golden ring.

"So how long have you had this place?" asked Meav.

Leoti glanced up, then looked back down at the diary.

"Fourteen years," she said. "I visited it about three years ago, but I haven't been here since."

"It's totally awesome!" said Tanya.

She walked over to the table in the center and stared at an opal necklace underneath a glass case.

"Careful, that one's cursed," Leoti said, still staring at the diary.

Tanya jerked her hand back from the glass and moved away to study a cluster of glass spheres on stands. She stared at one in particular that appeared to have a tiny forest inside of it.

"Hey Leoti-oneechan. How come I can hear my voice coming out of this?"

Leoti finally put down the diary and walked over to Tanya. She smiled and picked up the sphere.

"Good," she said. "They're still working."

"What are they?" asked Kendra.

There were maybe fifteen spheres and only three had anything in them. There were some shards below an empty stand, as though one of them had shattered.

Leoti set down the forested one and checked the other two. One was filled with shifting mist and the other was crackling with lightning like a plasma ball.

"These are memory spheres," said Leoti.

"Okay…" said Kendra. "And what do they do?"

"They contain memories lost through magical means," said Leoti. "When Mairead explained her dream to me, I could only think of one possibility. Kolora has used a memory wipe similar to the one she used on you, Kendra."

"But I broke out of that curse easy enough," said Kendra. "And Dren is more powerful than the rest of us; it would be no problem for him to break out."

Leoti shook her head.

"It's a different kind of memory wipe," she said. "More specific. Instead of possessing Dren and the others, she has blocked their memories and planted new ones. I doubt they even remember their real names."

"How would we break something like that?" Mairead said. "If they remember things that aren't true, nothing we say or do will change that."

"There are two ways to break a memory curse," said Leoti. "The first consists of a trigger that will awaken any small memory. It's usually a very slow process."

"What kind of trigger?" asked Meav.

"It could be anything. A tree similar to one they've seen before, something they saw in a dream, someone who acts similar to someone they knew, even just brushing up against someone they knew before."

"Okay. And the second way?" asked Orla.

"Memory spheres," said Leoti. "However, memory spheres are unwieldy and hard to use. They could result in unconsciousness for both user and receiver."

"So the trigger is safest, but works slower," said Erinda, nodding.

Leoti nodded. Tanya crossed her arms.

"I won't believe it until I see it," she said. "There's no way they could forget us, curse or not."

"I agree," said Orla.

Kendra and Mairead nodded. Meav looked a bit confused, and Erinda frowned. Anzu glanced at Leoti, meaning hidden in his gaze. Leoti looked sad.

"Either way, we have to find them," said Mairead. "What made you so sure they were in Tokyo?"

"Because that's where the dimension tunnel would send them," Leoti said. "They were looking for a girl with pink hair and cat ears. That could only mean one thing."

"And that is?" Orla said.

Leoti suddenly grinned mischievously.

"You might want to try these on," she said, tossing something to the five girls and three boys.

"This is a school uniform," said Orla.

"Yep."

"You aren't implying…" Bryn said.

"Yes. Tomorrow, you are a group of exchange students from America," she said.

"Joy," said Kokoro.

"I always loved acting," said Rikuto.

Kokoro smacked Rikuto on the head with a fan.

"Good morning Ichigo!"

"Good morning, Moe, Miwa," Ichigo said.

"Well?" said Moe. "Did you make it to the competition yesterday?"

Ichigo hesitated. Yesterday had been a disaster. Kish had attacked Masaya and nearly killed him. Thankfully, Masaya hadn't realized Ichigo was a mew, and he had given her the little bell she was wearing around her neck. So yesterday hadn't been a total loss.

"I caught the end," Ichigo said. "And I talked to Masaya afterward too."

"You are so lucky!" Miwa said. "You got the cutest guy in school!"

"It's not like he's my boyfriend or anything!" Ichigo said, blushing.

"Hey, did you see? We got a bunch of exchange students today!"

Ichigo blinked. She followed Miwa's finger to the group standing near the doors.

"Wow. How many of them are there?" Ichigo said.

Moe counted.

"Eight," she said. "But Americans usually come in groups, don't they?"

"Yeah," said Ichigo. "I wonder how good they are at speaking Japanese."

"I hope they're good," said Moe. "That brown haired guy is _hot._"

Ichigo saw the guy she was talking to.

"Not as cute as Masaya," Ichigo said.

"Oh, shush," said Moe.

"But I want to go too!" one of the group said.

She appeared be the youngest of the group, with short brown hair and two small pigtails on the top of her head.

"Whoa, that little girl has yellow eyes!" said Moe.

Ichigo took a better look at the girl. She did have yellow eyes. And they looked too much like Kish's eyes for comfort. The girl gave her a weird feeling. The whole group had the same feeling.

The little girl and a blond girl seemed to be arguing, but Ichigo couldn't hear them. For all she knew, they could be speaking English.

The bell rang for classes to start. Ichigo walked with Moe and Miwa to the door. Suddenly, she brushed against one of the exchange students—a girl her age with red curly hair. Blue eyes met with brown for a split-second. Ichigo felt as though something had passed between them—something that neither of them could understand. Then the moment was over and the girl walked on.

Ichigo walked away with Moe and Miwa. But when she sat down in class and thought about what had just happened, she realized that she had gotten a weird feeling when she had bumped into that girl. Almost like…

Like they were somehow connected through something, but Ichigo couldn't figure out what.

She tuned out the teacher and stared out the window, trying to think. What was it that sparked that feeling in her? Like they were connected by something…or someone…

The memory of Kish swooping down and kissing her pushed its way into her mind. She jerked in surprise. No way! Did the exchange student have something to do with Kish?

Tanya sat in the shop, totally dejected. Leoti had told her to stay behind while they looked for Dren. Tanya punched a bookshelf in frustration and immediately regretted it. Her hand throbbed painfully and she went back to moping around the shop.

It was because she was the youngest. That's why they left her behind.

Something shiny caught her eye in the back of the room. (Me: Oo SOMETHING SHINY!) She walked toward it. It was a tiny book, bound in pale blue fabric and locked with a silver clasp. Curious, she jiggled the clasp and it opened. The book fell open and she stared at the title page.

_The Crystal Book_

_By Prairee Flores_

Tanya flipped the page. There was a drawing of a Crystalline Otter and a page on its stats and powers. Tanya continued to flip through the book. Suddenly she stopped on a page.

_Crystal Transformation_

_Copy the general appearance of any person, animal or object._

Tanya began to get excited. If she could transform, then Leoti and the others wouldn't realize that it was her if they saw her. Then she could look for Tarb!

She slowly mouthed the words to herself, committing them to memory. Then she closed the book and with only a moment's hesitation, slid it into her pocket. It was just the right size, and it _was_ a crystal book. Crystal was _her_ power.

She walked over to the door and peeked out.

"Now to find someone to copy," she said.

There was a girl in the park, doing tricks on a ball in front of a crowd.

"She'll do," Tanya said.

She closed her eyes and pictured the girl in her head.

"Hari kasei," she whispered.

A sensation like cold water flowed through her veins, leaving her tingly. It felt like she was being encased in cold crystal—then suddenly the feeling shattered. She turned around and looked at herself in the darkened window of Leoti's shop.

She now had short brown hair with four tiny braids in the back. Her outfit had changed to match the girl doing tricks, but it was pale blue.

"It'll do," Tanya said.

She glanced out into the park and slipped the opposite direction so that the girl she had copied wouldn't see her. Eventually she found herself at the other side of the park.

"Well I just walked in a big circle," she grumbled.

Then she noticed the pink castle.

"How cute!"

She walked toward it and suddenly was hit with the same feeling she got when Kyalda was around.

_I better check this out. Maybe Tarb's in there!_

Tanya ran over to the building. After a moment's thought, she passed the front door and sneaked over to a window. Cautiously, she peeked in.

"Pudding! Pick up these plates!"

"Whee! It's time for my ball!"

It was the girl that Tanya had copied! She was running around the building in a frilly café uniform on a ball, chased by two other girls in blue and pink. Another girl in purple leaned against the wall, and a fifth girl in green knelt on the ground, trying to sweep up fragments of a broken plate.

Tanya giggled. She was like a perfect copy of the girl she had copied. They were both hyper and annoyed people.

But Tanya's giggle had attracted attention. The girl in purple looked up towards the window. Tanya ducked out of sight, but it was too late.

"Ichigo, there was a girl with yellow eyes out there," Tanya heard someone say. "Besides that and her brown hair she was a perfect copy of Pudding."

"Time to go," Tanya, muttered.

She started sneaking around the café.

"Hey you! Come back!"

It was the girl in pink with the others behind her. Tanya glanced behind her and took off.

"Wait!"

Tanya didn't stop. She charged recklessly into the woods nearby. Branches smacked her in the face and slowed her down, but she didn't stop. Finally, she couldn't keep going. She stopped and dropped to her knees. She listened carefully.

No one was following her. She sighed.

"Maybe I should have listened to Leoti and stayed back at the shop," Tanya said.

Then she shook her head.

"No, I did the right thing," she said to herself. "I have to find ototo-san!"

It was so quiet. Tanya had half expected to hear Tarb's voice saying,

"You're only older than me by twenty seconds!"

Tanya felt suddenly alone and sad. Tarb had always been her partner in everything. She couldn't remember a time when they hadn't been best friends. They had been inseparable.

She could feel tears starting to fall. On instinct, she checked her pocket, to make sure that the book was still there. It was gone.

Suddenly terrified, Tanya leapt to her feet and looked around frantically. Had she dropped it while she was running? She turned back and walked slowly back the way she had come, staring at the ground and hoping against hope that she would find the Crystal Book.

Suddenly her Kyalda Key flashed. Tanya stopped and glanced down at the necklace she was wearing. Her Eversphere had transformed after she had used the Kyalda Rod, and now the magic worked differently.

_Go left, three paces._

Huh? Had that been a voice?

Tanya turned to her left and took three steps.

_Not steps! Paces! That means six steps!_

"Well why didn't you say so?" Tanya grumbled.

She took three more steps.

_Now look to your right._

Tanya looked. There was the book, lying open. She ran over to it and picked it up. It was open to a page with the title: _Using Crystals as a Compass._

"Well that's helpful," said Tanya. "Like I really need a compass."

But she read the next sentence.

_Can be used to find your way through mazes, find places that can't be found, and even find objects and people._

Tanya's eyes widened. Maybe it could help find Tarb!

She mouthed the words, hoping she was pronouncing them right. Then she closed her eyes and pictured Tarb in her mind.

"Hari hiroimino," she whispered. "Tarb."

Her Kyalda Key flashed and a line of light burst from it. Tanya jerked back and nearly dropped the book. The light hovered there a moment and vanished. But its path had burned itself into Tanya's mind. She shoved the book into a deeper pocket, determined not to lose it again. Then she ran after the invisible line.

She wasn't sure how long she was walking, but the sun soon went down and it was getting darker. Tanya was getting tired. How much longer would this take?

Suddenly she broke free of the trees and found a building. It wasn't as strange as the café, but it was big and seemed important. The invisible line tugged at Tanya's mind, leading her towards the building.

She swallowed and walked forward carefully, her hand grasping her Kyalda Key. The line led her to a window and stopped. She peeked through cautiously.

Tarb wasn't anywhere she could see. All Tanya could see was a woman sitting at a desk, writing something. There were cases with butterflies on the wall.

"Darn, it didn't work," said Tanya.

But something made her stay put and watch. Her patience was rewarded.

The door blasted open and cases full of butterflies shattered. The glass on the window Tanya was looking through shattered and she barely dodged the glass. One shard scratched her cheek and she felt a thin trickle of blood.

"No, don't touch that butterfly! The wings are very poisonous!"

Tanya scrambled to her feet and stared through the window. It was Sardon and Tarb!

Sardon was holding a pink butterfly in one hand.

"Nice to know," said Sardon.

He held up a hand. Pink circles flew from his hand like echolocation and lifted the woman into the air. Something pink pulled out of her chest and zoomed to Sardon's hand. The woman fell to the ground, skin pale white.

Tanya gasped. Sardon had just stolen that human's spirit!

Sardon's face was expressionless. Tanya had no other choice. She leapt over the remains of the window and into the room.

"Hey!" she said. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Who are you?" Tarb said.

Tanya blinked—then remembered she was still in a copied form. Still, she looked enough like him that he could draw conclusions, couldn't he?

"Why are you stealing innocent humans' spirits?" Tanya said. "That's not like you guys. I didn't even know you could."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Tarb said. "I have no idea who you are. You're making it sound like you know who we are, human."

"I'm not a human, baka!" Tanya said. "Crystal copy, form deactivate!"

The cool sensation rushed through her and she could feel the illusion shatter around her, revealing her true form.

"No way!" said Tarb. "You're a Cyniclon?"

"Duh, Tarb," said Tanya. "It's not like you haven't lived with me for ten years."

"What are you talking about?" Tarb said.

Even Sardon seemed confused.

"You're annoying me," Tarb said.

"Big surprise," Tanya said.

Suddenly, Sardon raised the hand with the spirit in it.

"Fusion!" he said.

There was a flash of light and a creepy butterfly anima appeared.

"No way, that looks exactly like the one that Ren and Yuuto made from Chantilly's spirit!" said Tanya.

"What are you talking about?" Tarb said.

"You really don't remember a thing, do you, Tarb," said Tanya.

"Stop calling me that!" said Tarb. "My name is Taruto."

Tanya froze. It was true. Tarb didn't remember. The tears pricked at her eyes, but she forced them away. She refused to cry in front of this new Tarb.

"Kyalda Pendant!" she shouted. "Kyalda Crystal! META—"

The butterfly blew poison at Tanya before she finished. Tanya went into a coughing fit and sank to her knees.

Now the tears were falling. Her brother, her friend, her partner in crime, her fellow matchmaker. He was attacking her and he didn't even think it was wrong.

"You promised!" she shouted between coughs. "You promised you would come back!"

Then she teleported back to the shop. Leoti and the others were there.

"Tanya!" said Kendra.

"What do you think you were doing?" said Mairead.

"Where have you been?" said Orla and Kokoro.

The tears were still coming down.

"He didn't keep his promise," Tanya whispered. "He didn't keep his promise."

Then she totally broke down.

Starfireelf15's comments: :'( Poor Tanya… Tarb was so mean to her… Okay, and before anyone says anything, Tanya is NOT "in love" with Tarb. They are brother and sister and best friends. That's it. What I'm trying to do here is show that there's more than one kind of love: there's love between a boy and a girl that you always see in anime, and then there's the love between family. That's the message that going across here. Oh yeah, and I thought I'd clear this up—Leoti left Tanya behind on purpose because she knew that Tanya wouldn't be able to resist what she could do with the book. Leoti knew that Tanya would end up finding Tarb. (Don't ask me how, cause that's a mystery to be solved at a later time.) Stay tuned for next time: Another Loss.


	20. 19: Another Loss

Orla glanced around the corner. The school courtyard was full with students. Orla sighed. It was harder than it seemed pretending to be exchange students from America, considering that they all spoke perfect Japanese. Orla still found it odd calling her language Japanese instead of Napajian. (Though the planet's name is Synoch, Orla and the others live in the country Napaj. Napajians speak the same language as Japan.) At least school was over for the day.

She sighed again.

"Oh, hello. You're one of the American exchange students, aren't you?"

Orla turned around. It was that red-haired girl that Mairead had bumped into yesterday.

"Uh, yeah," said Orla.

The girl smiled.

"You speak Japanese very well," she said. "My name is Ichigo Momomiya."

"Uh, Orla Fallon," Orla said.

"Are you enjoying Japan?" Ichigo asked. "Is it very different from your home?"

"Extremely," Orla said.

She thought about the kirema anima and the different races that had gone to her old school. You didn't see spirits or elves in a human school. Orla nearly touched her ear, still feeling weird with the transformation spell that Leoti had placed on all of them to make them look human.

"Hey Ichigo!"

Ichigo turned. A girl with blue-black hair in two buns stood across the street, hands on her hips.

"Ichigo, come on! You'll be late!" she said.

"Oh, coming, Mint!" said Ichigo. "Nice meeting you Orla-san."

She ran across the street.

"Yeah," said Orla. "Nice to meet you."

Suddenly her Kyalda Key flashed in warning, warming at her chest. She got a sudden image of kirema anima attacking a library. She turned and ran, following her instincts to find her way to the library.

"There!"

She skidded to a stop. The glass in this building had shattered. Was it Ren and Yuuto or Kolora? Or was it some other new enemy?

She leapt over the remains of the window and surveyed the area. Strange parasitic kirema anima were—

Eating the books? What kind of a stupid idea was that?

One of the anima turned and lunged at Orla. Orla dropped to one knee and it leapt over her. She slid a knife out of her boot and whirled to face the kirema anima. It leapt at her again and she slashed at it. Moonfire flared across the blade and surged through the kirema anima, defusing it.

Another one attacked her from behind and knocked her to the ground. Orla rolled onto her back and crushed it beneath her. A third anima leapt on top of her and she rolled on the ground with it, trying to wrestle it off of her. She couldn't get in a position to stab it with the moonfire dagger!

"Mew-Mew Lettuce! Metamorphoses!" shouted a voice. "Ribbon…Lettuce Rush!"

Water slammed into the anima and thrust it off of Orla. Orla scrambled to her feet and glanced around for her rescuer. It was a girl with bright green hair and a green outfit. Orla froze. With her hair and the white ribbons spiraling from her head, she looked almost exactly like Orla's mom, Hailie—who had died in a fire four years ago.

"Are you all right?" the girl asked.

Orla nodded, mute.

"You have to get out of here!" the girl said. "It's not safe!"

Then she whipped around and sent water at another kirema anima from the castanets she was holding. Orla backed away.

What was going on? Who was this girl? Why did she look so much like Hailie? And why were there kirema anima on Earth? Orla took another step back.

Orla turned around and ducked behind a bookshelf to transform so she could kick those anima's butts. But she knocked into someone and fell over.

"Hey, watch it!" Orla said.

She looked up—and her blood ran cold.

It was Sardon.

"What—what are you doing here?" she said, eyes widening.

No recognition crossed his face. Orla scrambled to her feet.

"What's wrong?" she said. "Why are you so quiet?"

"Move aside, human," Sardon said.

He raised the fan in his hand and sent electricity at Orla. Orla had not been expecting that. The lightning hit her full on and she flew back. She smacked against a wall and landed on her feet shaking.

Shock coursed through her. Even in a human form, her father would be able to realize who she was!

"Why?" she said. "Why did you do that?"

She felt the lump in her throat rising. There might have been something in Sardon's eyes, but Orla couldn't tell. He really had forgotten, just like Leoti and Tanya had said. Tears pattered against the floor.

"It's not fair," she whispered. "I hate you. You promised that you would never leave me alone!"

Orla was shouting.

"How could you forget?" she screamed. "How could you forget me? How could you forget—how could you forget mom?"

She turned around and leapt out the shattered window. She didn't stop running even after she was well away from the library. The sky was starting to get dark when she finally came to a stop. She sank to the ground and sobbed.

Then suddenly Leoti was there, hugging her.

"I'm sorry, Orla," she said. "I knew. I knew the whole time."

Orla cried even harder.

"I already lost my mom," she said. "Why do I have to lose my dad too?"

"I'm going to make you a promise, Orla," Leoti said quietly. "I won't rest until I can bring them back. I promise that I will make Sardon remember you if it's the last thing I do."

Orla still didn't stop crying. It was too much.

High above them, Hailie let her own tears fall.

Starfireelf15's comments: I think that's the shortest chapter I've ever done! Poor Orla… She lost her mom in a fire, and then her dad doesn't remember her. He even attacked her! I mean how heartless can you get? Okay, stay tuned for the next chapter: Fiery Spirit. And I promise, this one's got a lot of the mews in it!


	21. 20: Fiery Spirit

Recap: Last time, Orla finally realized the truth about Sardon forgetting her. Now Leoti has made her a promise: Leoti will not rest until she can bring Sardon, Dren and Tarb back. But how will she do it?

_Ichigo ran through the darkness._

Where am I?

_Her thoughts echoed through the darkness. She stopped, panting. Why was she feeling such terror?_

_Suddenly there was a flash of light. Ichigo screamed. Then she was running down a long corridor. She felt the presence of someone else beside her, but she couldn't turn her head to see who it was._

_Then the light flashed in front of her again and she saw a figure standing at the end of a long chamber, face thrown into shadow._

**Beep, beep, beep, beep…**

Ichigo fumbled for her alarm clock and fell out of bed.

"Ow," she grumbled.

She felt awful. Her head was reeling and she couldn't breathe through her nose. Her mom, Sakura came inside.

"Oh dear. Did you fall out of bed again?" she said.

"Yes…" Ichigo groaned.

She tried to breathe through her nose and made an awful sniffling noise.

"Uh oh, sounds like you have a cold," Sakura said.

She walked over and helped Ichigo back into bed, then felt her forehead.

"It's a fever," she said. "You better stay in bed today."

"But I have a date!" Ichigo said. "I promised Masaya!"

"If he's as good as you think he is, then he won't mind postponing it," said Sakura. "Now you get some rest."

She left the room. Ichigo instantly reached for her cell phone and tried to call Masaya.

"We're sorry. The number you dialed is not available."

"Come on," Ichigo said.

She dialed Lettuce's number.

"Hello?" said Lettuce.

"Lettuce-san, I got a cold and I'm supposed to meet Masaya today," Ichigo said. "I can't reach him, can you call him and let him know I won't make it?"

"Sure, Ichigo-chan. Hope you feel better soon."

"Bye."

Ichigo hung up. She tried to stop herself from falling asleep and back into her nightmares, but it was too late. She sank beneath the waters of sleep.

"We'll all go at the same time, separating them so that they cannot help each other," said Pai. "It's all very simple and foolproof."

Kish nodded absentmindedly. He still couldn't get last night's dream out of his head.

_He was running through a long dark corridor, his footsteps echoing through the empty building. Another set of footsteps ran next to him. Who was it? He couldn't see who it was, but the presence was familiar…_

"Kish?" said Taruto. "You awake?"

Kish blinked, then shrugged.

"There shouldn't be any trouble," he said.

"Then let's get started," said Taruto.

Kish took off and flew towards Ichigo's house.

_It's been too long since I've seen the little kitty, _he thought.

Mairead stumbled down the street. The strange sickness had hit her suddenly after school was over, causing nausea, dizziness, disorientation and cold sweat. She had no idea where she was going. She wasn't even sure how she had lost the others. She just kept walking numbly forward, not able to think clearly about where she was going.

A buzzing sort of feeling filled her head, keeping all logical thought out. She couldn't remember why she was here. She couldn't remember anything. Slowly, she came to a stop behind a red car in an empty lot and sunk to her knees.

Who was she? Where was she? What was going on?

Suddenly there was an explosion on the other side of the car. Mairead thought she heard someone cry out in pain.

"I don't want to hurt you Ichigo," said a familiar voice. "Just come along quietly."

Just like that the buzz was gone. It was Dren. The buzz may have been gone, but Mairead still felt dizzy. She could barely stand up.

"Why must you follow me like a shadow?" said a voice that Mairead didn't recognize. "MEW-MEW STRAWBERRY! METAMORPHOSES!"

Pink light flashed around the car.

"For the future of the earth, I will be of service, nya!" said the voice.

There was a cough.

"Maybe that wasn't really necessary..."

Mairead used the car to push herself up and peered around the car. Standing in the lot was a girl with a short pink dress and cat ears. A neko? Dren was floating above her, wearing some weird outfit. What was going on?

Dren laughed—but it wasn't the laugh that Mairead knew.

"It must be terrible for you," he said. "Despite having transformed, Ichigo is still Ichigo."

The girl called Ichigo held up her hand.

"Strawberry Bell!"

Something began to form in her hand. Just then, Dren hurled something at Ichigo and she went flying into a tree.

Mairead felt a surge of shock. Why was Dren attacking her? She reached out with her mind, trying to brush against his. If she could just reach him; let him know she was there…

Her probe came up against a heavy wall. It was as if Dren had not found out how to communicate telepathically. What was wrong?

"Do you want to stop?" Dren said, grinning at the girl in pink.

Sais appeared in his hands.

"You know you can't escape," he said.

Mairead wanted to run out there and stop him, but her legs wouldn't respond. Suddenly, the dizziness struck her again and she sank to the ground. Someone was walking up to the gate…

Dren was turning around to see…

Mairead clutched her head as the figure grew closer. It was like fire was burning through her veins and in her head, burning out all other thoughts except one.

_Why do I know you?_

And she did know him. The tall, blue cloaked figure with blond hair and blue eyes, striding purposefully into the empty lot…

She knew him. But she didn't know how.

Leoti stared at the computer, uncomprehending.

"What in the world…"

The Blue Knight had arrived, as she had predicted. But why were his energy readings so high? It couldn't be right!

"Chantilly!" she called. "Take a look at this!"

Chantilly was there in an instant.

"Is this a malfunction?"

Chantilly stared at the screen and shook her head.

"This is perfectly fine," she said. "But the readings are—"

"All wrong," Leoti finished.

"That could only mean—"

"That means Mairead is in the same area," Leoti finished the sentence again. "which probably means that all hell is going to let loose."

They exchanged glances.

"I'm going to get the girls," said Chantilly.

"I'm headed out there right now," said Leoti, shutting off the computer screen. "Remember, we want as little contact as possible."

Chantilly grinned and winked.

"You do know who you're talking to, right?" she said, disappearing.

Leoti sighed.

"Yes, I know exactly who I'm talking to," she muttered.

Ichigo was dreaming again. She saw a tree immersed in light, little rainbow halos glinting in her eyes. Her eyes moved down the trunk to the foot of the tree where a strange shadow stood.

_Who are you?_

There was no answer.

_Have we met before?_

Silence.

_Please, say something!_

The figure was starting to fade away.

_Wait! Come back! Who are you?_

He was gone.

Ichigo slowly opened her eyes. The flash of steel caught her attention, drawing her gaze to the furious fight ensuing in front of her. Kish darted at the blue-cloaked figure recklessly, slicing forward with his sais in frustration. The blue-cloaked figure—hadn't he called himself Blue Knight?—blocked each strike with ease. Ichigo got the feeling he had power underneath his calm demeanor—power that might burst into life at any time.

Kish swiped at Blue Knight with a single sai. The Blue Knight blocked the blow and thrust forward with a powerful front thrust. Kish only barely dodged, taking a scratch to his cheek. He flew up to try and bring down a more powerful strike from above. Blue Knight flicked his blade up to block the move.

"Ichigo-san!"

The other mews charged into the lot.

"Ichigo, are you all right?" asked Lettuce.

"I'm fine now that you guys are here," said Ichigo. "How did you get here so quickly?"

"It was really weird," said Mint. "All the kirema anima suddenly burst into amber fire and defused."

"The radish things that chased Pudding and Lettuce-oneechan got attacked by pink powder nanoda!" said Pudding.

Lettuce nodded to confirm.

"So, where did the blue fright come from?" Mint asked, pointing at the Blue Knight. (TOKYO MEW MEW FUNNY FANDUB REFERENCE! ^-^)

Ichigo shook her head.

"I'm not sure," she said. "He came to save me just in time."

"Wow he's totally beating Kish's butt nanoda!" said Pudding.

"The way he fights..." said Zakuro slowly, watching the battle with a warrior's eye. "It's like...fire."

Ichigo blinked, looking at the Blue Knight again. To her surprise, he did fight as though made of fire on the inside—calm and protective on the outside, but crackling with power inside that might go out of control with the right provocation.

"Augh! Watch out! No control! MEEEEEEPPP!"

Something small and blue fell from the sky, crashing into Kish.

"Whoops! Gomenasai!"

Someone small leapt off of Kish and darted behind the car. Ichigo didn't get a good look, but she did catch a familiar shade of brown hair and the glint of yellow eyes. Was it the girl that had been watching them in the cafe before?

The clang of metal against metal brought Ichigo back to the present. Kish was still on the ground from when the girl had landed on him. That had given Blue Knight an opening and he had taken it. Kish had only just managed to bring his sais up to defend himself. He now held his sais in an X shape, trying to hold the blade away from his neck. However, he was weakening quickly. The blade was drawing nearer.

"It was so quick," said Zakuro, eyes wide. "I hardly saw him move."

Kish was sweating. His hands were trembling from the exertion. Ichigo could see the fight could be ended in seconds.

"BLUE NYMPH METAMORAPHOSIS!"

A watery blue light flashed from behind the car.

"Wait, Mairead—" Ichigo heard someone say.

Something blue darted from behind the car, knocking into the Blue Knight and knocking him off of Kish. Kish rolled to his feet instantly—but then his movement ended as he stared at the new piece in the game.

For a second, Ichigo though she was looking into a mirror that reflected Blue Knight. Then she saw the differences. The new character was female, wearing a long blue dress instead of a cloak. Her eyes were icier than Blue Knight's and her hair was longer and loose. She drew a long sword from her back, the sapphire blue blade glinting like water.

As though in unspoken agreement, the Blue Knight and the new figure started to circle each other, both watching the other carefully. The girl made the first move, darting in a fluid as water. Blue Knight blocked the move with the force of fire.

Fire and water. Were they the same creature with different attributes?

The fight went faster than the one between Blue Knight and Kish. Both competitors seemed to know what to expect from the other. The first few seconds left them equally matched, each one parring the blows of the other. Then Blue Knight seemed to let loose the power that Ichigo had sensed just below his surface. His strikes became stronger and more explosive. The girl was faltering slightly. She managed to dodge his moves as though in a complex dance. However, there was a strange lethargic feeling starting to penetrate her moves. It was as though the presence of the Blue Knight was wearing on her.

She thrust forward with her sword. The Blue Knight blocked and twisted the sword from her hand. The blade flew across the lot, clattering across the ground. Blue Knight darted in again. Suddenly the girl took out a long ebony staff to block the strike . She swept under the Blue Knight's sword and struck him in the stomach.

He stumbled back and the girl paused. It took the Blue Knight only moments to catch his breath again. He dove forward. The girl blocked and hit him in the stomach again, waiting for him to catch his breath again.

"Why isn't she attacking nanoda?" asked Pudding.

Ichigo was wondering the same thing. Blue Knight was fighting harder than her, attacking when she didn't expect it. But the girl only defended. Why?

In only a few more seconds, the Blue Knight had caught onto the girl's attack, dodging her staff and hitting her on the side of the head with the flat of his blade. The girl dropped to the ground, completely vulnerable.

"Crystal Shield!"

Something big and crystalline blocked the Blue Knight's final strike. Ichigo saw someone appear behind the crystal, but it was too thick to see. Then the shield vanished, leaving nothing behind. Even the girl's lost sword had vanished.

What on earth had just happened?

(At this point in time the rest of the scene follows episode 17-18. Blue Knight still gets a chance to say that Ichigo is heavier than she looks. ^^ However, since the Kyaldians no longer appear in this episode, I see no reason to continue it. You all know what happens in the end anyway.)

Starfireelf15's comments: You have absolutely no idea how much trouble this chapter gave me. First I had this weird meeting between Mairead and Masaya, then I had this whole thing where Mairead faints and dreams about the whole Blue Knight/Ichigo scene, and so on and so forth. Finally Mairead walked up to me and said in no uncertain terms that she would not leave Dren to fight the Blue Knight all by himself. Then Tanya admitted that she had accidentally fallen into Dren when she was going to rescue Mairead, leaving Dren vulnerable to the Blue Knight. I'm still not sure why the Blue Knight kept attacking while Mairead only defended. Mairead told me that she didn't want to really hurt Blue Knight because he was only trying to protect someone, but Blue Knight won't tell me why he's so violent. In fact, he won't talk to me at all. -_-' Anyway, just to clear a few things up, the kirema anima fighting Mint and Zakuro burst into amber flames because of Leoti's help, and the radish thingies got taken care of by Chantilly. This was to ensure that the mews to come to Ichigo's assistance in case something went wrong. Anyway, this is the longest commentary that I've ever done so I'm going to shut up. Stay tuned for the next episode: Two Becoming Friends? (yes, it is what you think it is. And yes I know it's out of order.)


	22. 21: Two Becoming Friends?

Leoti sat in her study, staring but yet not staring at her computer screen. She flipped through ideas in her head, trying to decide on a course of action to break the memory curses on the three former Kyaldians. Her thoughts were constantly interrupted with doubts that whispered to her, telling her to stay out of it, to leave them alone, that this was the way it was supposed to work. Leoti forced the voices out of her head. She had to stay focused.

She blinked the sleep from her eyes and stood up. With long purposeful strides, she stepped over the piles of books and papers scattering the floor of her study to reach the small cabinet hanging on the far wall. It clicked open at her touch and she opened the doors. A silvery light poured from the open doors, emanating from the bowl sitting inside. Its silver contents swished around the bowl as though they had a mind of their own.

Leoti stirred the liquid with her finger. Slowly, the contents cleared, forming a clear, window-like substance. Images played along the bottom, as though Leoti was staring through a skylight at the events playing out below. With a practiced flick of her hand, the images sped along, slowing at times so that she could inspect particular ones.

She sighed.

A small figure rose from the bowl, feet immersed in the liquid. The old man with half-moon glasses and a long silver beard wasn't looking at Leoti, but he wasn't not looking at her—it was because he was a memory.

"There are only two ways to break the memory curse," he said. "A trigger and memory spheres, which you seem to have a natural affinity for, Leoti."

He sank back into the pool.

"Natural affinity or not, memory spheres are dangerous," Leoti muttered. "Killing Dren and the others will not help anyone."

The trigger would have to do. But would the Cyniclons respond? People were supposed to generate the most memories, but Orla, Tanya and Mairead had already been seen by the former Kyaldians. The trigger should have worked by now.

Pieces began to fall into place in Leoti's head. Even though Dren, Tarb and Sardon had seen people they used to know, the memory curse was too fresh and strong. They couldn't break free of the memories they believed were theirs. Seeing these people that they knew before was too foreign and they were subconsciously rejecting the memories.

Leoti could almost hear the gears in her mind whirring. The trio was definitely aware that something was wrong, but they pushed the thoughts away.

So then...

If they came into close contact from someone they knew in this reality...

Someone that was just similar enough to match someone they knew before...

It was so crazy it just might work.

Leoti thought a moment. Who was in this dimension that the aliens knew that might have an effect on them? It was there in seconds. Tarb and Pudding.

It was perfect. Leoti's heart beat faster. All she had to do was a simple dream manipulation spell and she could make events happen faster than they would have—

Leoti touched the fire charm around her neck.

"Chantilly I need you over here as soon as possible. Bring some of that dream powder stuff. And tell the Kyaldians that I need to talk to them."

Finally, Leoti was making progress.

Pudding sped down the back corridor.

_Where is that rumbling coming from? _she thought.

Suddenly, she pulled up short, waving her arms frantically to avoid falling into the hold she had just found. Pudding peered down into the depths. Was there a bottom to this thing?

"What are those Cyniclons doing down there nanoda?" she wondered out loud. "Well, only one way to find out nanoda!"

Pudding pulled out her Power Pendant.

"Mew-Mew Pudding! Metamorphosis!"

In seconds, Pudding was in Mew form. Without a second thought she jumped into the hold, sliding down it like a snow slope. Taking advantage of her momentum, she flipped into the air near the bottom of the cavern and landed on her feet. She looked around the huge cavern.

"You're here already?"

Pudding jumped slightly and turned to find the voice. She could see Taruto hovering cross-legged at the top of the cavern.

"Taruto! What are you doing down here, digging a huge hole nanoda?"

"I'm going to collapse this dome. What does it look like?"

Pudding stiffened.

"I won't let you do that!"

Taruto flew down and landed next to her.

"You can't stop me." He turned away. "Gosh, kids are annoying."

Pudding grinned and used her hand to measure herself against Taruto.

"Hey, look, I'm a little bit taller nanoda!"

"Shut up!"

Pudding giggled.

"You're always getting in the way," said Taruto angrily. "Go, kirema anima!"

A giant scorpion like creature burst out from under the ground. It swiped a massive claw at Pudding. Pudding leapt out of the way. She jumped backwards to avoid the creature's attacks.

"Running away isn't going to stop it," said Taruto, following her progress through the air.

"I..." said Pudding, jumping again. "...know that nanoda!"

She jumped again.

"Ribbon…Pudding Ring Inferno!" she shouted, sending a wave of energy at the kirema anima.

The yellow energy encased the kirema anima, sealing it in yellow jelly.

"Take that nanoda!" said Pudding triumphantly.

"Oh yeah?" said Taruto.

Another scorpion kirema anima burst from the ground right behind Pudding. Pudding only just managed to get out of the way of its claws. The kirema anima charged, Pudding running as fast as she could.

"I won't let you run away!" shouted Taruto.

Pudding flipped onto a big rock. The second she landed, thin roots snaked out of the ground and wrapped around Pudding's arms.

"What do you think of that?" said Taruto.

Pudding struggled against the vines. With a screech, the anima charged the helpless Pudding. Pudding froze, mind racing. How could she get out of this one?

_**Screech!**_

The kirema scorpion stopped, thrashing about wildly. It shook its massive head as though to get rid of a fly.

"Huh? I can't control it anymore," said Taruto.

"Ha! That's so lame!" Pudding laughed.

Taruto gave her a dirty look.

"Shut up!"

The anima struck the ceiling, bringing a rain of dirt on top of its head. The cavern shook ominously. Pudding didn't have a second to even think of what it was when the ceiling crashed the ground.

When Taruto finally came to, it was dark. His head throbbed painfully as though he had a dent somewhere. Must have hit his head pretty hard. A spasm of pain shot through his leg. Something flashed through his mind—he remembered breaking his leg after being thrown into a wall by—a kirema anima? That was stupid. Taruto shook his head, trying to clear it. More blurred images and random thoughts were popping into his head like long-forgotten memories. But that was stupid. They didn't make any sense.

Taruto focused on the recollections. Black fire was rushing all around him as he flew around and around as though trapped in a tornado. There was a flash of red, like a field of red flowers, then a flash of green and a piercing screech. Someone shouted something. Was that his voice?

"Kyalda Vine! METAMORPHOSES!"

Blue light flashed across his vision. He could see a blurred figure in white.

"_You guys are Kyaldians!"_

"_This is so cool!"_

"_This is too weird."_

_The fiery cyclone in front of them continued to writhe. Suddenly it collapsed upon itself and then grew into a shape. Taruto squinted at it. What was it? Some sort of animal thing made of black fire?_

Another spasm of pain jerked him out of his thoughts. Carefully, he managed to extract himself our from under the boulder with nothing worse that a bruised ankle. After dusting himself off, he took a look around. A monkey tail was sticking straight up in the dirt. Must be Mew Pudding.

"What are you doing, being buried," said Taruto, walking over.

He took hold of the tail and pulled as hard as he could. Pudding popped up out of the dirt like a carrot.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

_What am I doing? She's my enemy!_

"The exit's blocked. Serves you right," he said quickly to make up for it.

Pudding stood up and looked around. Then she turned to Taruto.

"Thank you!" she said.

This was the last thing that Taruto had expected.

"For what?"

Pudding smiled.

"For saving me. Wait a minute." She rummaged in a pocket and pulled out a small candy. She held it out to Taruto.

Taruto took it cautiously. He looked at it for a minute, then he glared at Pudding suspiciously.

"What are you up to? Why should I have this?"

"You know Taru-Taru, you don't have to be a bad guy. It's much more fun to play than to fight."

The memory took Taruto by surprise.

"_Race you to the trail head!"_

_A Cyniclon girl with short brown hair half in pigtail and yellow eyes sped on ahead of him. Taruto instantly recognized her as the Cyniclon girl that had confronted him and Pai in the butterfly lady's house._

"_No fair, you got a head start, and you're a faster runner than me!" Taruto shouted as he tried to catch up._

_The girl skidded to a stop at the trail head._

"_And Tanya is the winner!" she announced._

_Taruto jogged up to her and stopped, panting._

"_Give me a chance once in a while, why don't you?" he said._

"_That's no fun!" said Tanya. "Plus, you need to exercise."_

"_Oh shut up," Taruto grumbled._

Taruto blinked out of the memory and looked at Pudding.

"You're weird."

Pudding grinned at him. She looked around.

"Well, it looks like we're going to turn into fossils down here."

"Maybe you are, but I can teleport out of here any time." Taruto grumbled.

Pudding just smiled at him. For some strange reason, Taruto didn't want to leave.

Taruto looked away from Pudding. Well, the roof better not cave in again, or they'd be in trouble. He wondered briefly where the kirema anima had gone.

He felt a sudden heat near his chest. Looking down, he saw a small necklace hanging around his neck. A green light pulsed softly in the center of a copper ring hanging from a black fabric strap. Where had _that _come from? It hadn't been there a few moments before. The heat flared on his chest again. A kirema anima burst from the ground in front of him. He yelped and jumped backwards.

The kirema anima charged Taruto. He leapt out of the way, Pudding jumping over it and scrambling up onto a boulder. The anima ignored Pudding, and swiped a claw at Taruto. Taruto jumped into the air to escape, hovering above the kirema anima. Why was it attacking him? He didn't notice the next swipe until it was too late to move out of the way.

"Ribbon...Pudding Ring Inferno!"

Claw and yellow energy met and exploded. The kirema anima was gone. Pudding stood in front of him. Taruto stared at her.

"You saved me," he said disbelievingly.

She smiled. Taruto couldn't help it; he liked that smile. Suddenly Pudding wobbled on her feet, falling forward onto her stomach.

"Hey! Wake up!"

Pudding didn't respond. What was wrong? It hit Taruto in seconds—the oxygen in the cavern was running out. He stared at Pudding, wondering what to do. The cavern rumbled ominously. Taruto couldn't think. What should he do?

"Oh forget it," he said irritably. "It would be too boring if you died."

Infusers appeared in his hands and he sent them deep into the ground of the cavern. He covered his ears as giant trunks burst from the ground, weaving themselves around and around the weakened supports of the dome. Taruto knelt down to pick up Pudding, then teleported out of the tunnel.

Taruto appeared outside of the dome and laid Pudding down on the ground.

"Hey," he said, shaking her shoulder. "How much longer are you going to sleep?"

Pudding slowly opened her eyes. She got to her feet and stared at the trees surrounded the dome. Then she turned to Taruto with a smile.

"You saved me again, didn't you Taru-Taru?"

"Stop calling me that," Taruto grumbled.

"Yay, Taru-Taru is a friend!"

Pudding jumped on Taruto, giving him a big hug.

"You're my friend, friend, friend, friend!"

"Get off!"

Taruto shoved her off. This didn't seem to faze her at all. Taruto grumbled under his breath. Then he looked up at Pudding. Her smile was pretty.

"Hey, Pudding?" he said slowly.

Pudding waited, watching him with that smile that Taruto really liked.

"Maybe—maybe we could be friends."

He knew he shouldn't be saying that. But for some reason, he didn't care. It felt like the right thing to do.

Pudding's smile widened.

"But, let's keep it a secret for now," said Taruto quickly.

"Whatever you say, Taru-Taru," said Pudding, hugging him again.

"Oh stop it," said Taruto, pushing her off again—but much more gently. The pair looked at each other for a long time.

"See ya."

Taruto took off into the sky and flew away. He knew Pudding was watching him as he flew. Far away as he kept flying, he opened his hand to look at the little candy drop Pudding had given him.

_This sounds crazy to myself, but I swear I've met Pudding before. Or maybe someone like her._

The thought seemed like a good one. He closed his fist around the candy drop again and flew on, teleporting into the between world.

Starfireelf15's comments: So, just to make a few things easier to understand, here's my usual commentary. What happened was that Leoti managed to get an idea into Taruto's subconscious to make him think of the idea to collapse the dome. He just thought it was his own idea. The other Kyaldians were waiting on the outside of the dome just in case the mews weren't able to hold the dome for long enough. Leoti knew exactly how the whole thing would work out. She knew about the whole Pudding X Taruto stuff before it happened. You want to know why? Keep reading my story. (Muahaha I'm so evil. ^-^) Stay tuned for next time: Kyalda Metamorphoses.


	23. 22: Kyalda Metamorphoses

The waves stretched out across the beach and fell back, as though trying to touch the far away figures before deciding against it. Leoti listened to the Kyaldians with half an ear as she stared at the waves. They didn't make her dizzy from so far away, but she didn't want to have to get in the water.

"Wow!" said Tanya. "It's so pretty!"

"Yeah, and much bigger than the beach back home," said Kendra.

"Tell me why we're here again?" said Bryn.

Leoti stretched, eyes closed to soak up the sunlight. She opened them at Bryn's words.

"The mews are going to be here in about four minutes," she said, checking her watch.

"So?" said Kokoro. "Why do we care about them?"

Leoti rolled her eyes, but it was Meav that answered.

"Didn't you hear what Leoti told Dren before he went into the portal?" she said, raising a slanted eyebrow.

Even in a full human form, Meav still looked cat-like. Her slanted eyebrows and unnaturally green eyes were framed by her short golden hair, and her creamy skin looked so soft it might have been covered in a thin fur.

"She said not to forget Mairead," said Kendra. "And boy did he ever."

"Before that," said Meav.

"Wasn't it something about Ichigo Momomiya?" asked Rikuto. "She was the girl they were supposed to find, right?"

Leoti nodded, about to speak. However, this time Chantilly answered.

"Hey, didn't you notice that girl with the pink dress and cat ears that Dren was fighting?" said Chantilly. "That, my friends, was Ichigo Momomiya. Also, she happens to be that red-haired girl that Mairead brushed against before school that first day."

Leoti shot Chantilly an irritated look, tired of being interrupted. Mairead blinked, recognition in her eyes.

"And she was the girl in my dream," she said. "The one where Dren—"

She stopped, as though unable to continue. Leoti took her chance to finally get a word in.

"Besides the fact that Ichigo and the mews are quite possibly the ally that Dren was sent to find, wherever the mews are, Dren, Tarb and Sardon aren't far behind," she said. "I don't want to pass up the chance to reach Tarb again. We made so much progress with our last effort; I would hate for it to be wasted."

Tanya had been twitching impatiently as they talked. Finally she burst out,

"Well they're not here yet, can we please go swimming?"

The others looked at each other. Then they all started laughing. Tanya blinked.

"What? What did I say?" she said.

Leoti regained her composure, though a smile still lingered on her face.

"Despite the circumstances, Tanya is still Tanya," she said.

Kendra ruffled Tanya's hair.

"Go on you chibi," she said. "But don't get yourself too tired out in case we have to fight."

"Yay!" said Tanya, racing down the beach.

"Well, let's go," said Orla. "We can't have Tanya doing anything stupid."

She jogged down after Tanya. Kendra and Bryn walked down together. Kokoro grabbed Rikuto's wrist and dragged him down with her, ignoring his protests that he didn't want to swim right now. Meav grumbled something about making sure they didn't get into trouble and walked swiftly across the sand. She still had that cat-like grace about her as she walked, drawing the attention of several guys sitting on the beach. Chantilly and Erinda glanced at Leoti. Leoti gestured at them.

"Go on ahead," she said. "You know how I feel about water."

Erinda nodded and strode down the hill. Chantilly winked at Leoti before charging down the beach.

Leoti sighed, letting the ocean wind envelop her. She really didn't mind water too much. She could swim all right and she wasn't afraid of drowning or sharks or anything like that. It was mainly what had happened in one particular body of water nearly twenty years ago...

Leoti pushed the thoughts from her head. There were more important things to worry about. Her senses tingled and she turned.

Ichigo, Mint, Lettuce, Pudding and Zakuro were headed down the beach.

"_Chantilly. Target approaching at six o'clock."_

Leoti had merely thought the words, but Chantilly had heard. She glanced over her shoulder, then walked over to Erinda to deliver the message. The mews had arrived.

Time for phase two of objective Rescue Tarb.

"Wuah!"

Pudding jumped up and down excitedly.

"It's the sea, the sea, the sea!" she said, running down to the water. "It's the sea nanoda!"

Lettuce giggled as she watched her young friend run around on the only empty stretch of beach. Moments later, Pudding raced back and dived into the chalet behind them to change into her swimsuit.

"What a beautiful beach!" Lettuce said.

Mint and Ichigo came out of the chalet.

"A chalet in a place like this," Mint said. "Ryou never fails to surprise, does he?"

Ichigo laughed nervously.

"It's everyone's summer vacation after all…I guess…"

Mint glanced at Ichigo.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"No, no not at all!" said Ichigo hurriedly.

Pudding charged past them with an inner tube, laughing. Ichigo ran after her friend to avoid Mint's suspicious gaze. Walking down to the edge of the dock with Lettuce, she performed an expert dive and swam out into the ocean.

"This feels so nice," Ichigo said.

A wave came up and splashed over her head, bringing Pudding along with it. Pudding surfed across the wave on her inner tube for a few brief seconds before it crashed on top of her.

Back on the beach, Zakuro was attracting attention from almost every guy within a two mile radius. Obviously she got tired of it because she stood up and walked into the sea with Mint, joining Ichigo and Pudding to swim. Ichigo popped out of the water and looked around for Lettuce. She was still sitting on the dock watching the waves. Ichigo wondered briefly why she didn't join them, but then Pudding splashed Ichigo on the head with water and the two of them started a water fight.

Pudding swam off farther away to escape Ichigo's water splashes, laughing the whole way.

"Don't swim too far away Pudding," Ichigo called, but Pudding didn't seem to hear.

Ichigo didn't think too much about it, thinking Pudding knew enough not to get into trouble.

Well, Pudding didn't get into trouble, but she sure ended up getting into trouble later.

Tanya ran after Orla with water in her hands.

"Stop chasing me!" said Orla, a grin on her face.

"I have to splash you first!" said Tanya.

Someone threw water at her from behind. Tanya whipped around and threw her handful of water at Chantilly.

"Got you!" said Tanya.

"Tanya, watch out!" said Kendra, laughing.

Rikuto hurled water at Tanya from behind. She ducked and ran into the water, swimming away.

"Doesn't count anymore cause I'm already wet!" she shouted.

Tanya kept swimming, enjoying the feel of the cool water.

_**Smack!**_

Tanya ran into someone headfirst.

"Oops! Sorry!"

"That's okay nanoda!"

Tanya looked up. It was a girl about her age with bright yellow hair and brown eyes. It also happened to be the mew that had been underground with Tanya's brother. Tanya hoped that her shock didn't show in her eyes.

"Hi I'm Pudding what's your name nanoda?" the girl said.

"I'm Tanya," said Tanya.

"Pleased to meet you nanoda!"

Before Tanya knew it, Pudding had splashed her.

"I challenge you to a water fight nanoda!" said Pudding.

Instantly, Tanya liked this girl.

"You're on!" she said, hitting the water at Pudding.

The two girls swam back and forth, splashing each other, chasing each other, and popping up from under the water. Tanya couldn't remember when she had had this much fun with another girl her age. She had always hung out with her brother and her older friends.

Finally, the two girls wore down. Pudding swam back over to Tanya.

"That was fun nanoda!" she said.

"Yeah!" said Tanya.

They grinned at each other. Then Pudding looked confused.

"Is something wrong?" asked Tanya.

"You look like someone Pudding knows nanoda," said Pudding. "But Pudding can't think of it."

Tanya tensed. She was probably thinking about Tarb. They were identical twins after all—the only difference was that Tanya had longer hair. But then Tanya thought of something. Maybe she should just tell Pudding about everything. Pudding was fun and Tanya hated keeping secrets.

"I've got it nanoda!" said Pudding. "You look like Taru-Taru nanoda!"

Tanya giggled at this new name for her little brother. He probably hated it.

"Can I tell you a secret?" said Tanya.

Pudding blinked. Tanya took a deep breath, and told Pudding the whole story.

Leoti felt it before she heard it. The high-pitched screeching slipped into her ears like a poison, making her feel suddenly nauseous. She glanced around the beach. No one else seemed to hear it. However, she saw a few girls suddenly looking worried and a little boy who had suddenly thrown up. She could hear a few shouts of an angry couple in the distance. That could mean only one thing.

Leoti jumped to her feet and strode swiftly down to where the Kyaldians were hanging out. Rikuto looked up.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Are any of you feeling sick, or angry for no reason?" Leoti said.

Everyone stared at her for a moment.

"Well, I am a little nauseous," said Orla slowly.

Kendra furrowed her brow.

"I did just snap at Bryn for no reason," she said.

"Yeah, I remember that," Bryn grumbled.

"I knew it," Leoti said softly.

She straightened.

"Listen," she said. "Can you hear it?"

The group went still for a moment. Then Kokoro nodded.

"There's like a screeching," she said. "Kind of like a bat."

"Exactly," said Leoti. "It's Kolora. She's using her banshee scream."

"Banshee scream?" said Mairead. "That's the one that causes sickness, anger and worry for no reason, right?"

"Correct," said Leoti. "She's obviously using it to catch us off guard. If we started fighting with each other, we'd have no way to rescue Tarb."

"But I feel better now," said Orla. "What does that mean?"

"The curse of the banshee scream is broken by realization," said Leoti. "But since humans can't hear it, not to mention they don't believe in banshees, its usually quite effective."

"But if we can hear it, what would be the point?" said Rikuto.

"Yeah, if we realized what was happening, there'd be no point to her attack," said Orla.

That thought had occurred to Leoti. But why else would she use the banshee scream? Was there something darker happening here? Leoti pushed the thought aside.

"Never mind," she said. "I'll have to stop her."

"Why not us?" said Kendra.

"Yeah, we could take her on!" said Orla.

Leoti shook her head.

"No, you need to stay here in case Tarb arrives. If we can't save Tarb, then everything is gone."

She blinked.

"Incidentally, where's Tanya?"

Everyone looked around.

"I don't know," said Orla. "I thought she was here a second ago."

"No wait, she swam off after the water fight, remember?" said Bryn.

Everyone exchanged glances.

"We'll look for her," said Kendra. "Leoti, if you need help with Kolora, call someone."

Leoti nodded.

"Good luck," she said.

They went their separate ways.

Tanya was feeling dizzy. She wasn't sure why, maybe it was all the waves she had ridden on. Pudding swam over to her.

"Is something wrong nanoda?" Pudding said, looking worried.

Tanya swallowed and put a hand to her head. Why was she so dizzy? She couldn't tread water anymore. She was sinking...

"Tanya-chan nanoda!"

Tanya's head slipped beneath the waves. She stared around her with an almost interested feeling. She felt dazed.

"Look, Pai!"

Tanya blinked. She knew that voice—didn't she?

"Earth has weird animals," the voice said. "Look it's shaped like a star!"

"We mustn't let curiosity get in the way of our mission, Taruto," said another familiar voice.

"Whatever."

Something grabbed Tanya and she felt herself being pulled to the surface. Her head broke over the water and she gasped for breath.

"Hang on nanoda!"

Pudding dragged Tanya through the water. It wasn't long before they reached the shallows and Tanya was able to stand again.

"Thanks," she coughed.

"Are you all right nanoda?" asked Pudding.

Tanya stared into the sky. It had suddenly turned dark and forbidding. Wind whipped around them with a near gale force. The waves were turning vicious, crashing against the shore.

"Let's get away from the water!" said Tanya.

"Right nanoda!"

The pair ran farther up the beach. Tanya looked around everywhere. Where were Leoti and the others? Were they looking for her? Had they been attacked? Tanya turned—and realized that Pudding was gone.

"Pudding-chan!" she shouted over the wind. "Pudding-chan!"

Her words were stolen away by the wind the moment they left her mouth. What was going on? She turned suddenly to the waves, a feeling of premonition spreading over her.

At that moment, a waterspout shot from the ocean, forming a tall pillar. Standing on top were two people she knew...

"Pai-sama!" she shouted. "Ototo-san!"

They couldn't hear her! Tanya struggled against the wind, trying to get closer. She heard a shout, but the words whipped past her before she could hear them. All she caught was something about mew mew and metamorphosis. Tanya took another step...and another...and

"KYAAA!"

The wind snatched her up into the air. She fought to fly against the wind, but it was no use. She twirled through the air like a paper airplane in a hurricane, spinning until she felt sick. She caught glimpses of the ocean and the beach and more pillars of water that fell away to form giant sea creature anima. The images jumbled together, whipping past her so fast that she could barely register what she was seeing. Then suddenly the ground was rushing up to meet her.

Tanya smashed face first into the sand. Particles got into her eyes and nose. She pulled her face of the sand, gasping and trying to blink the sand out of her eyes.

_At least the sand cushioned my fall so I didn't break anything._

Thinking quickly, she didn't try to push herself up in case the wind picked her up again. She looked around as much as she could without moving. She could see those strange kirema anima, surrounding five girls she recognized as the mews.

"Pudding-chan," she choked out.

Reaching one hand forward, she dug her fingers down to the wet, firmer sand and pulled herself forward. She reached with her other hand and pulled herself forward again. Slowly, she inched forward on her stomach, not daring to brave the wind again. She could almost hear some sort of screech flying around her on the wind, like some deranged song.

A flash of amber caught her eye. She looked up and saw two people moving on the cliff in the distance. Amber fire burst into life, only to be beaten back by black fire.

"Leoti-oneechan," Tanya whispered.

Now she was torn. Should she go help Leoti, of help her new friend Pudding? What about her brother? And where had her friends gone?

Tanya steeled herself. She didn't know where her friends were, and judging by what she knew of Leoti, Leoti didn't need much help. A yelp of pain confirmed her actions. She saw her friend Pudding getting shocked by a giant jellyfish. She was going to help her friend.

"Okay, teleport time," she said.

She slipped into the rippling air and right back out where Pudding was about to get skewered by a giant sea urchin.

"Crystal Shield!" Tanya shouted.

A giant crystal flower bloomed into existence between the anima and Pudding. It even blocked the wind, allowing Tanya to stand up. She rushed to her friend and grabbed Pudding's arm.

"Pudding-chan!"

Pudding looked up.

"Tanya-chan nanoda!" she said. "You're still here nanoda!"

"Are you okay?" asked Tanya.

"Yes nanoda!" said Pudding.

The crystal flower shattered and Tanya pulled Pudding out of the way of another sea urchin attack.

"It's Taru-Taru nanoda!" said Pudding. "Does he still not have his memory nanoda?"

(Remember, Tanya told Pudding everything, and Pudding is innocent enough to believe without question. Not that she's stupid, she's just young and innocent.)

"Not yet," Tanya shouted over the wind.

She would have added something more, but suddenly there was a cry.

"Help!"

Tanya whipped around and nearly fell over in the wind. Two boys were clinging to the posts of a dock.

"He fell in!" one of them shouted.

"Help!"

A little girl ran past the two boys and dived into the stormy waves.

"Iruka-chan can't swim nanoda!" Pudding shouted.

"Iruka-chan!" the girl in pink shouted.

Suddenly the girl in green shot out of the group and down the dock, diving after them into the storm-tossed sea.

"Lettuce!" the girl in blue shouted.

"Lettuce-oneechan!" shouted Pudding.

Fear blazed in Pudding's eyes.

"Lettuce-oneechan can't swim either nanoda!" said Pudding.

Tanya's Kyalda Key pulsed. It flickered, as though attracted to something in the ocean. Suddenly, Tanya knew what she had to do.

"I'll help your friend!" she shouted to Pudding. "Waste these anima for me will ya?"

Pudding's eyes widened, then she grinned.

"Sure thing nanoda!"

Tanya took off down the beach towards the dock.

"OTOTO-SAN!" she shouted.

Tarb blinked and looked around from his place on the water pillar. Sardon looked down at his younger partner quizzically. Tanya waved her hands around.

"LOOK OVER HERE YOU BAKA!" she screamed. "I'M RIGHT HERE!"

Tarb looked down, seeming to see her. Even from this distance, she could see the gears working in his brain. She grabbed her Kyalda Key, feeling the light flicker wildly in her hand.

"KYALDA LIGHT RELEASE!"

The tiny light at the top burst free of the key zooming into the air. It shot towards Tarb and struck him hard in the chest, making him fall onto his backside. Then the light made a circle in the air and fell into the ocean.

Tanya waited, hoping against hope that she had done it right.

The ocean burst into light.

_Tarb_

The glare of the ocean light was almost too much for him. He didn't want to look directly at it. Even Pai lifted his fan to shield his eyes. Tarb wanted to look away, but when the light had hit him in the chest, he could have sworn he heard something click.

He needed to look into that light. So he stared deeper into the depths of the ocean of light. Somewhere deep inside the ocean he saw images. Things that seemed vaguely and yet clearly familiar. He could see the the girl that looked just like him—except it was his sister and her name was Tanya. His name was Tarb Asai, not Taruto. Pai was Sardon, and he hadn't always been so obsessed with computers. Kish was Dren, and he hadn't always been so aggressive.

He could remember transforming. He remembered Illishar and riding him, feeling better than when he flied on his own. He remembering racing Tanya to the trail head, having Spherical lessons with Takehiro and going down to the boardwalk with everyone. He hit himself mentally. He hadn't come to Earth to take it over. He had come to help Dren find the girl that was supposed to help them defeat Deep Blue.

Deep Blue...

He shuddered inwardly. He had heard Deep Blue's voice and felt his presence. He had taken orders from him instead of fighting him. What had happened to him? The memory of the dimension transfer struck him. He remember seeing Yuuto and then blacking out. Memories from this world came to him too. He remembering attacking his sister with the butterfly anima. He remember attacking the mews and creating kirema anima. He could remember Pudding in the tunnel and rescuing her. The memory made his cheeks go hot.

Suddenly the light from the ocean grew smaller, as though something was reaching the surface. Something burst through the water, shining even brighter than the ocean had. It was that green mew that had jumped into the water—with a fin made of Kyalda?

The light felt as though it shone through him, bringing back everything he had forgotten.

"Sunameri power," Sardon said behind him.

Tarb realized suddenly that Sardon hadn't remembered. Why had it only worked for him? He snapped back to his senses. If Sardon hadn't remembered—maybe he could pretend he hadn't! If he made contact with the others, he would be able to tell them what the other two were planning? He shuddered at the thought of being around Deep Blue again, but if it would help bring the others back he would do it.

He glanced down at the beach. Looks like this battle was nearly over anyway.

The light from Mew Lettuce had totally immobilized the kirema anima. At that very moment, Mew Ichigo was finishing them off.

"It looks like this mission is a failure, Taruto," said Sardon.

Tarb snapped back.

"Uh, yeah," he said. "Let's go."

He glanced down at the dock. The light from Lettuce had condensed into a small sphere that was floating back to a small figure on the dock. For a brief moment, Tarb and Tanya's eyes locked gazes. He grinned at her to make sure she knew. A huge grin spread over her face.

"_Meet me at the cliff when you get the chance, we'll explain everything,"_ she said through their mind connection.

"_Got it."_

Tarb vanished away with Sardon.

_Tanya_

"Ugh!" Kendra groaned. "Beating up Kolora was hard work."

"Yeah, especially with that wind that kept making my arrows go screwy," Kokoro grumbled.

"We beat her in the end, didn't we?" said Orla. "In my book, that's all that counts."

"Sorry, I couldn't help," said Tanya.

"Don't say that again," said Leoti. "If you had been there to help, Tarb wouldn't have come back. Not to mention things wouldn't have happened the way they should have."

Tanya looked up questioningly at the older girl, wondering what Leoti meant. Leoti waved it off and glanced up and down the cliff ledge.

"So, is he going to get here anytime soon?" she said.

Tanya looked down at the ocean, colored red with the sunset. She could just barely see the mews down there, playing in the water. She wondered if Lettuce was swimming with them now, or if Pudding would ever respond to Tanya's question.

Suddenly the air rippled and Tarb stepped onto the cliff.

"Ototo-san!"

Tanya jumped on Tarb, knocking him over in a huge hug.

"Augh! Tanya! Not—breathing! Meep!"

Tanya got off of him.

"I can't believe you're really back!" she said. "I thought you were a goner!"

She sat up and crossed her arms.

"I told you that you would get into trouble without me. Didn't I say that?"

"Hey, if you had been in that place, you'd understand why we were taken by surprise," Tarb grumbled.

Orla grinned.

"All that matter is that you're back, shorty," she said.

"Hey, you're only a few inches taller than me!" Tarb protested.

Tanya stepped back, letting everyone else say hi to her brother. She glanced down the hill—and she saw Pudding running toward them.

"Tanya-chan nanoda!"

"Pudding-chan!"

Tanya ran over to Pudding and they gave each other huge hugs. Everyone stopped talking for a moment and looked over at the pair. Tarb started blushing visibly.

Tanya broke away from Pudding.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked. "Won't your friends worry?"

"Pudding told them Pudding was exploring nanoda!" said Pudding. "And Pudding had to answer your question nanoda!"

"Really?" said Tanya.

"Pudding says yes!" said Pudding.

"YAY!" said Tanya.

"Tanya," said Leoti. "What question? Why is she up here?"

Tanya turned and grinned at them.

"Pudding-chan knows all about our mission," she said. "She wants to help."

Tanya couldn't help but notice her brother turning beet red.

"Awww," she said. "So you really did find a girlfriend like I told you to!"

"Shut up," Tarb grumbled.

Leoti groaned.

"Great. Two hyper people."

She sighed.

"Well Pudding," she said. "Can I trust you to keep this all a secret from the mews? At least for now?"

"Sure thing nanoda!" said Pudding. "Pudding wants to help nanoda!"

Leoti sighed again.

"Things are sure going to get interesting around here," she grumbled.

Starfireelf15's commentary: And Tarb has returned to us and we've added Pudding to the group. Now you're going to see a whole lot of the mews, so it's officially a Tokyo Mew Mew fanfiction! I really like this chapter cause I like the way Tanya releases the Mew Aqua/Kyalda so Lettuce can use it. Oh, and in case your wondering how Lettuce saw in while she was drowning, Tanya subconsciously released it for a moment while _she _was drowning—when Pudding saved her. ^-^ Yes I know, it's a little mixed up, but I'm just glad I finally got another chapter up. Oh, I read this awesome manga called Azumanga Daioh, and it's hilarious! You should go read it! Stay tuned for the next chapter: The Moon Still Shines.


	24. 23: The Moon Still Shines

Orla leaned against the tree and pulled her hat down lower. She glanced around the park past the brim of her hat which hid her exotic silver eyes. Even Leoti's illusion spell had trouble hiding Orla's Moon Wraith traits.

Orla glanced towards the pond—and froze. Ichigo was walking over to the pond, holding a basket. Orla slid back behind the tree, not wanting to be noticed by the pink mew. She watched Ichigo through the leaves as the pink mew knelt next to the water. She took a duck from the basket and set it into the water.

Orla pushed back farther into the trees, noticing a boy from school walking over to Ichigo.

"Oh, Aoyama-kun!" said Ichigo.

She stood up and brushed the dirt off her knees. The couple walked over to a bench. Ichigo started talking about something called "the Water of Miracles." Wait a minute, why was that familiar?

"…_also known as Miracle water…"_

Orla drew in a breath. Had the mews discovered Kyalda? She blinked. One of its names had been Mew Aqua, hadn't it? Did that mean Kyalda was connected to the mews? What about when Tanya had released the Kyalda and Mew Lettuce had absorbed it? Were there other powers of Kyalda that Orla didn't know about.

Orla slipped away towards Leoti's shop. Leoti had to hear this.

* * * (A few hours later)

Orla sprinted across the park. Leoti and the others had taken too long discussing what to do with this new piece of information, so Orla had decided to check it out herself. She was going to Café Mew Mew to see what was going on. In moments, the café appeared in front of her and she came to a stop. She paused, wondering if it was still open. It'd be a lot easier to find something out if it was. If only Pudding had been around, then Orla could have asked her.

Suddenly Tarb appeared.

"You took off really fast," he said.

"Well sue me for getting irritated," Orla grumbled. "Too much discussion and not enough action."

"Yeah," said Tarb. "The sooner we get the others back, the better."

Orla nodded, pushing the lump from her throat as the image of her father sneaked into her mind.

"Oh, it's closed, just so you know," said Tarb suddenly. "I just saw Ichigo go in in regular clothes."

"Dang."

Before Orla could decide on another course of action, Mint shot out of the café. She smacked past Orla, not even noticing Tarb. Orla fell over from the impact.

"What in the name of Blue?" she swore. "What just happened?"

"Good question," said Tarb, watching Mint vanish into the distance.

Orla's Eversphere flashed. She sighed and stood up.

"I'm following her," she said.

"What?" said Tarb, blinking. "Why?"

"I don't know, okay!" Orla snapped. She caught herself.

"Sorry, Tarb," she said. "I didn't mean to snap."

Tarb shrugged.

"It's okay. I kind of get what you're going through."

He glanced up at the sky.

"Okay, I'm gonna get going," he said. "Dren and Sardon will start looking for me."

"Right," said Orla. "I'm going after Mint."

They separated.

Tarb was just in time.

"Where were you, Taruto?" said Pai.

"Out," said Taruto, trying not to make eye contact. It was really hard pretending he was the bad guy. Pai narrowed his eyes at Tarb, then started talking about something else.

"Deep Blue-sama has sent word," he said. "Tokyo Mew Mew must be eradicated."

Tarb felt nauseous just hearing Deep Blue's name. Especially with the "sama" at the end.

"He really said that, huh?" said Tarb, putting his hands behind his head. "We've been trying our best haven't we?"

_Not, _he thought.

Pai ignored Tarb, looking instead at Kish.

"Kish, what it that?" he asked.

Tarb glanced over at Kish: it took all he had not to gasp. Kish was holding a small vial with a pale blue pulsing light inside. Tarb stopped himself from touching the Kyalda light under his shirt. That light was a fragment of Tanya's Kyalda light—it had to be! No other Kyalda had such a distinctive blue color. (I didn't make Tanya blue on purpose I swear! This just somehow happened!)

"Oh this?" said Kish. "I picked it up at the beach. After hearing about it, the true force of evolution on Earth."

"Mew Aqua!" said Pai suddenly.

"Yep," said Kish.

Tarb racked his brains, searching the memories from the time when he was Taruto. Had he known this then?

"What's that?" he asked. (I can't believe the actual script of the anime actually fit for this part! Taruto actually says that line!)

"Why wasn't Deep Blue-sama informed?" asked Pai.

Tarb fought off another wave of nausea.

"The problem is, this is only a fragment," said Kish. "Oh yeah, did you two want to try out my plan? If it works out, you might make Deep Blue-sama like you."

_That the LAST thing I want, _Tarb thought.

But the worst part of that meeting was when Kish explained his plan.

"They're attacking the café!"

Orla looked up from the book she was reading. Tarb was suddenly in the shop, panting.

"What?" said Orla.

"Dren and Sardon," said Tarb. "They're going to attack the café tonight!"

Orla dropped her book.

"But—Mint isn't there!" she said. "I saw her send her power pendant to the café! She can't fight!"

"Dang!" said Tarb. "Where is everybody else?"

"They all went looking for Kyalda fragments," she said.

"Then you've got to get over to the café," said Tarb. "I'll contact you when we're about to strike."

Orla nodded and teleported. In seconds, she stood behind a tree, looking out at the café.

"Now to watch," she murmured. "And wait."

It seemed like weeks she was waiting behind the tree.

_Where is Tarb's signal?_

Suddenly the ground trembled. Orla almost fell over, but she managed to get into the air before she did.

"No time for waiting now!" she said. "KYALDA MOON! METAMORAPHOSES!"

_Now where is the quake coming from?_

Ichigo, Lettuce and Pudding ran out of the café, transformed.

"Guess I'll follow them," Orla muttered, zooming after them.

After following the mews for a while, she was underground in a thin tunnel. She could just make out a pale blue light far ahead.

"Geez, how far did Tanya's fragments go?" she grumbled.

"What is it Kish?" said a familiar voice. Orla swallowed. It was her father.

"Hurry up!" said Tarb's voice. Orla heard an edge of uncertainty in his voice. He hadn't been able to contact her…and now he was worried she wouldn't show up.

"Not so fast!" said Ichigo's voice.

Orla zoomed close enough to watch what was going on—without being seen.

"Digging like this to create an earthquake," Ichigo continued. "Subway workers must be really angry."

Orla groaned silently. Seriously, could she sound anymore juvenile?

"For the future of the Earth, we will be of service nya!" said Ichigo. "Speaking of which, hand over the Mew Aqua!"

Kish shrugged.

"Okay," he said.

"What?" said Orla, forgetting to be quiet.

"What?" said Ichigo.

"What?" said Pai.

"Kish?" said Tarb tentatively.

Kish ignored all of them.

"But handing it over like this isn't quite right," he said. "How about adding a little something?"

Infusers suddenly appeared around him.

"In the name of Blue," Orla swore.

The infusers latched themselves onto the glowing sphere. A giant blob-like turtle appeared.

"Of for the love of the moon," Orla said. "Those three can't take it on by themselves!"

"Strawberry Bell!" Ichigo shouted. "Ribbon…Strawberry Surprise!"

The bubbles bounced off an invisible shield surrounding the anima.

"How do you like that, kitty?" Kish laughed.

"Ribbon…Lettuce Rush!"

"Ribbon…Pudding Ring Inferno!"

The two attacks bounced off as harmlessly as Ichigo's had. Orla saw Tarb looking around, as though trying to see if she had made it.

"No time for secrecy now," Orla grumbled. "Moon Sabers!"

Her twin swords appeared in her hands.

"Ribbon…Moonshine SURGE!"

Silver energy lanced towards the monster, slicing through its protective shield.

"What?" said Kish, confusion showing through.

Orla ignored him, darting forward. The turtle thing shot one of its three heads at her. She leapt into the air to dodge and sent another wave of silver energy at the creature. It roared in frustration. Suddenly, lightning coursed through the air towards her. She dodged barely and whirled on her father. His fan still crackled with lightning. Anger surged through Orla. He didn't remember her. He didn't even care about her. Her anger swelled and silver fire swirled around her.

Silver energy burst off of her and the roof exploded. The anima thrashed angrily, stepping out onto the street. Orla turned away from her father and shot after the monster. She was going to get that Kyalda back if it killed her.

"Mew-Mew Mint! Metamorphoses!"

Orla darted into the smoke of the explosion. Mint was back! And so was Zakuro! They probably wouldn't need her help now—not with Zakuro here.

"Ribbon…Mint Echo!"

The attack bounced off of a new shield. Orla paused. Maybe they would need some help. Suddenly Ichigo burst forward in a run, bending down with the her speed. She was going right towards the anima! Ichigo skidded to a stop and pushed off right before smacking into it. She was completely airborne—but they'd have to act fast before she landed.

"MINT!" Ichigo yelled.

"Ribbon…Mint Echo!"

The attack surged towards Ichigo. Ichigo somehow latched onto it, spinning through the air and letting go—so that the attack surged right into the eye on the back of the creature.

The creature roared—and vanished. Orla sighed, transforming back to normal and touching down gently to the ground. The Kyalda reappeared—and shattered. Water poured out into the street, washing Orla and the mew away. Suddenly the moon shone out from behind the clouds right onto Orla. The change was immediate. Orla shifted into a tall willow—thankfully in a copse of trees.

It was there that she could hear Dren and the others talking.

"That's all Mew Aqua can do?" said Sardon.

"Nope," said Dren. "It was just another crystalline substance."

He grinned.

"What we just saw was just a fragment of its true power," he said.

Dren and Tarb vanished. However, Sardon lingered for a moment. If Orla hadn't been a tree right now, she would have held her breath. He turned slowly.

_Sardon_

Pai turned around. Was that a silver tree? He squinted. Why did it seem so…

Familiar?

Suddenly there was a flash of silver light behind him. He whirled—and stared into calm silver eyes. A strange silver-glowing woman floated there in front of him. She gave him a small, sad smile—then vanished.

Pai stared at the spot where the woman had been.

"Remember me, Sardon," a faint voice whispered. "Remember me."

Pai paused for a moment. Then he returned to the dimension where Kish and Taruto were waiting.

Starfireelf15's commentary: This is going to be a short commentary! This was a really quick chapter cause I didn't have much time to spend on it! Gotta go now! (REALLY short commentary!)


	25. 24: Spirits Entwined

_Leoti_

Leoti stared blankly into the computer. She was so tired she could barely focus on the blinking screen in front of her. She sighed and let her head rest on her desk. It had been a long night, thinking, planning, thinking Mew Aqua reacted on the screen and then finding that it was a false alarm, that sort of thing. All Leoti wanted was to sleep—but there wouldn't be much time for that. After the last two failed missions, Kish and Pai seemed as unchangeable as ever. (you're not really supposed to know about the failed missions...I would have written about them, but all I really wanted to do was write this chapter so deal with it! And I do hint at one mission, so just pay attention!)

Leoti had thought over plan after plan, but none of them seemed plausible. She had considered trapping Kish alone with Ichigo the way she had gotten Tarb and Pudding together, but every time she visualized that one, she came up with either Kish taking advantage of Ichigo in unspeakable ways or Ichigo killing him when he tried. Neither of those were preferable outcomes. Lettuce and Pai together had been another idea, but Leoti was loath to put a mid-thirties guy alone with a twelve-year-old girl—no matter how much she looked like Hailie or how much Leoti had trusted Sardon.

She cringed inwardly thinking of the last plan with the Rainbow Stone. Sure it had amazing memory storage powers, but at that close a range to a drop of Mew Aqua? It was a wonder she hadn't destroyed the whole building. She swore mentally at Kish for carrying that tiny fragment of Crystalline Kyalda in the first place.

Even Hailie's unexpected appearance in a spirit form that night with the Kyalda hadn't brought back Sardon's memories. Pain throbbed in Leoti's breast. If Hailie couldn't bring Sardon back, what could? She could still remember the night when she had accidentally overheard the younger couple twelve years ago. Their voices had been so full of love for each other—and then that terrible fire had ripped everything away and Sardon hadn't been the same ever since.

"What can I do?" she murmured.

She touched the emerald dragon's scale hanging around her neck, feeling the warmth that still hung about it as though still attached to the dragon. Sunlight glinted off of its gem-like surface—it also glinted off of something gold in the corner. Something that wasn't supposed to be there.

Someone was in Leoti's study. And it hadn't set off her alarms.

Leoti dropped from her chair in case of arrows or guns, weaving a shield around her as she clasped the hilt of her sword. In a fluid motion, sword in hand and fire sparking at her fingertips, she sprang to her feet to face the intruder—and stopped.

Dark violet eyes held Leoti spellbound, frozen. Who was this girl?

She was an inch or two shorter than Leoti, yet the way she stood, so firm and regal, made Leoti feel inferior. The intruder wasn't extremely pretty: her hair was a dull sandy blond and her features were plain. Even her velvety purple dress was unadorned except for a strip of gold lining across the collar. The golden glint that had drawn Leoti's attention came from a thin gold circlet around the girl's head. But beyond the plain features, Leoti felt power. Power carefully hidden, but still radiating off of every inch of this girl's being—especially her deep violet eyes.

Leoti couldn't break away from the gaze, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't move—she could barely think, let alone speak. She wondered vaguely if she was going to die.

Then the girl spoke.

"Looking for a way to fix the mistake you made?"

A faint smirk played about the girl's lips and Leoti thought she caught a glint of fangs. But more than the possibility of fangs, the girl's voice was just as entrancing as her eyes—like a cool breeze on a summer's day—but fraught with danger like a storm just on the horizon, brought along by that cool summer breeze. The girl continued to speak.

"The light rests at the foot of mirrored confrontation," she said. "Watch your step—and everyone else's."

Then—Leoti hadn't even blinked—she was gone. There was nothing to suggest that she had been there at all. The spell lifted from Leoti and she sank to the ground, aching everywhere from not being able to move. How long had it been? A few minutes?

Leoti glanced up at the computer screen—and her jaw dropped open. The computer clock told her that she had been there for almost five hours! It was almost eleven o'clock already!

Leoti scrambled to her feet and closed her eyes, running her magical senses over the whole room. It stank of Fairyland—or more accurately, Between. She had almost been lured out of her dimension, where time flowed differently. Anxiously, Leoti checked the date, remembering that some occupants of so-called Fairyland hadn't returned for years. Luckily, it was still the same day it was when she had seen the girl.

The girl. Leoti sank into a chair. What had her words meant? Had they meant anything? What kind of creature had she been—one of the Fayrie, perhaps? Or was she a demon like Ren and Yuuto? (Fayrie are any spirit-like or magical creature formed at the beginning of Creation, e.g., Elemental spirits, banshees, demons, etc. etc.)

"_The light rests at the foot of mirrored confrontation."_

Leoti sighed and closed her eyes. Why couldn't any of the Fayrie give straight answers for once? Didn't it get old?

The computer dinged and started to flash red. Leoti turned to it and pressed a key. Instantly, a fluctuating set of bars flashed onto the screen, flashing 'extremely high concentrations' in big red letters. Leoti switched to video feed and typed in the coordinates that had been listed on the previous screen. Tokyo Tower flickered into view.

Grim realization flooded Leoti.

_Mirrored confrontation, _Leoti thought. _Tokyo Tower is an exact copy of the radio tower back on Synoch._

She switched to aura mode and watched the green aura fill the screen, covering up human auras scattered around the tower.

_And the light at its foot? _Leoti thought. _What else but Kyalda?_

The screen blinked as if in agreement.

_Kish_

Kish grinned, watching Pai's computer screen to see that the cocoon had grown over ten times its original size overnight.

"A few more hours and Tokyo will become a toxic wasteland," he said.

Taruto coughed and Kish glanced at him. Instantly Taruto was ignoring Kish again, watching the screen. For some reason, Taruto had seemed strange since that attack at the beach had gone wrong. Kish briefly wondered why, and then decided it wasn't his problem.

Pai switched the screen to show the kirema moles burrowing.

"How are the moles doing?" Taruto said.

"There hasn't been a signal yet," said Pai.

"They'll find it eventually," said Kish.

But he was laughing on the inside at how the other two had totally fallen for his trick. Those kirema anima couldn't find Mew Aqua if it was sitting on their long noses.

Suddenly the blinking dot stopped. It dived down. Kish grinned. Showtime.

He pushed forward.

"Bingo!" he said. "It found a Mew Aqua."

He turned.

"I'm going to Tokyo Tower," he said. "I'll leave the Mew Aqua to you two."

In moments, he had stepped out into the air above the tower. He grinned, baring a small fang.

"It's showtime," he murmured.

_Ichigo_

Ichigo barreled down the street, hearing the loud foot steps of her friends beating behind her like war drums. She ignored her heart hammering against her ribcage as though trying to escape and the sudden shortness of breath she was experiencing. There was no time to stop—they had to get to Tokyo Tower!

She had only just made it into the the square when an all-too-familiar voice assaulted her ears.

"Hey kitty-cat. That was faster than I had expected."

Ichigo didn't waste time retorting.

"Come on girls!" she shouted. "Mew-Mew Strawberry!"

"Mew-Mew Minto!"

"Mew-Mew Lettuce!"

"Mew-Mew Pudding!"

"Mew-Mew Zakuro!"

"METAMORAPHOSES!"

In a bright flash of light, Ichigo felt her ears and tail sliding out, as though they belonged there. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as her body prepared herself to fight.

"Well, you sure don't waste time," Kish smirked.

"Shut up!" Ichigo snarled. "Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!"

The assault narrowly missed Kish as he darted to the side.

"You'll have to do better than that, kitty," he laughed.

Ichigo readied another blast, but Zakuro grabbed her shoulder.

"He's trying to make us waste our energy," Zakuro said. "Save it for the kirema anima."

Ichigo sent a glare at the snickering Kish, then followed Zakuro up to the top of the tower where the monster waited for them.

_Orla_

"But you said the memory spheres were too dangerous!"

Leoti ignored Orla. Orla clenched her fists.

"Listen to me Leoti! You told us you wouldn't risk it! You told us they might kill you—or Dren and my dad!"

Leoti shook her head.

"We have no other choice," Leoti said. "I've tried everything else I could, Orla. Sardon and Dren just aren't receptive."

Orla tried to force back her tears. She was terrified. What if something went wrong? What if Dren and her father died? What if Leoti died? What if... Orla's mind threatened to explode with the 'what ifs.'

"No time to go back now," said Kendra. "Look up."

Orla looked up. At the top of the tower, the tell-tale flashes of the mews attacks hammered at the cocoon. Orla squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again.

"Okay. Let's do it."

Leoti nodded and pulled the two small spheres from her bag.

"Just little longer to wait," Leoti murmured. "Just a little longer."

Orla wasn't sure she could survive the wait.

_Ichigo_

(about fifteen minutes later—the moth has now hatched and it's raining heavily.)

The moth surged toward the glass windows of the observatory.

"NO!" Ichigo screamed.

Without even thinking about it, she hurled herself in front of the moth's path. A crash and a shatter of glass rang through her ears, rendering her sense of hearing useless for a few seconds. Glass cut into her back and the pain of impact sent tremors down her spine. Somehow, she managed to hang on, grasping at the moth's thick furry body. In a few minutes, she had gained enough sense to call up her weapon, slamming the energy into the moth's back. It wasn't even reacting!

Some sixth sense warned her minutes before it happened.

"Land on your feet this time kitty," Kish said before knocking Ichigo into the air.

A scream tore from her throat as she sped toward the ground. All she knew was the ground far away, ready to pull her into a deadly impact...

Then suddenly she stopped her downward movement and started to move up. She opened her eyes, feeling someone's strong arms cradling her. She stared up into Blue Knight's face.

"Blue...Knight?"

Blue Knight landed gently on a ledge of the Tower and set Ichigo down.

"Thanks," Ichigo said, feeling awkward.

Blue Knight nodded. Suddenly Kish appeared.

"You again," he snarled. "This time I'm going to get you!"

He darted toward Blue Knight, sai outstretched. Blue Knight drew his sword instantly and parried easily. Kish let out a hiss of rage and struck again, only to be blocked again. The fight might have lasted for much longer if Kish hadn't over shot. He stumbled forward and Blue Knight hit him hard on the back, sending Kish sprawling onto the floor. Blue Knight raised his sword...

"BLUE NYMPH METAMORPHOSES!"

It was the same girl again! She knocked into the Blue Knight and knocked him off balance. The water attribute girl was at Dren's side.

"Are you all right?" she asked softly.

Kish stared at her, as though not sure what to think. Ichigo thought she saw a tear fall from the girl's eyes, but it was gone in a moment. She turned to face Blue Knight.

"I don't want to fight if we don't have to," she said. "You have to protect someone as much as I do, and I respect you for that."

Blue Knight stayed emotionless. The girl raised her sword.

"However, our duties have overlapped, and you continue to attack the one I must protect," she said. "If a fight is what is necessary, then so be it."

Had Ichigo heard that voice before? She was almost positive she had...

The two had begun to fight. This time, the girl seemed stronger. She no longer had that strange lethargy that had been present before. Ichigo would have continued to watch them, transfixed, but she was suddenly aware of Kish next to her.

"Well kitty cat, seeing as blondie is busy, it looks like we can have some fun," he said, grinning.

Ichigo jerked away, but it hadn't been necessary. A cry of pain drew Kish's attention away. Ichigo glanced in the direction of the fight—the girl was on her knees, clutching at her side. Blood was beginning to soak her cloak. Ichigo thought she saw a flash of fear on Kish's face—and then another slightly familiar voice drew Ichigo's attention.

"Hey Kish."

It was that blond America transfer! She was holding a strange glowing white ball.

"Who are you?" said Kish.

Leoti grinned.

"Catch," she said, tossing the ball into the air.

Out of instinct, Kish snatched the ball out of the air.

And the world exploded.

_Pai_

Pai stepped from the air, seething. Kish had completely betrayed them. What on earth was he trying to achieve? Flashes of blue caught his gaze—but only for a brief second. Black fire surged from the sky, slamming him into the side of the tower. It took him only moments to recover from the attack, ready for another—but none came.

"Hey look it's Pai nanoda!"

Pai felt a twinge of anger. Those stupid mews. He'd have to take care of them. His fan appeared in his hand, and electricity began to crackle around it.

"Ribbon Mint Echo!"

The black caught him in the side. He plummeted onto the ledge, cursing himself for not noticing the blue mew sneaking up from behind.

"Ribbon Zakuro Spear!"

Pai wouldn't have time to react! A burst of silver light blinded him for a second—then he realized that the impact of Zakuro's attack had never come. Standing before him was the same silver woman he had seen the night Kish had used the Mew Aqua to create a kirema anima. She knelt in front of him.

"Oh Sardon," she whispered. "Why do you push away those memories we shared together? Can't you remember me at all?"

Something stirred in Pai's memory. Why did he suddenly feel so...calm? The silvery being leaned in close to him.

"Remember me," she whispered.

He could feel her breath against his face. She was drawing nearer...nearer... Her lips gently touched his—and he remembered. Everything flooded back to him at once: when he became a Kyaldian, seeing Hailie for the first time in the moonlight, the kiss they had shared beneath the willows, the day she gave birth to Orla—then the day of the fire, where Hailie had been ripped away from him. Yet here she was, solid and real and _alive _before him.

She pulled away from him, caressing his cheek softly.

"Hailie..." Sardon whispered.

"Sh," Hailie said. "I can't stay long."

"But—you're alive," Sardon said.

"Not yet," said Hailie. "I can't stay in this world yet."

She pulled from his grasp.

"Wait—"

"Find me, Sardon," she whispered. "But now, Orla needs your help."

Then Hailie was gone. The mews were gone from the ledge as well—did they see or remember the scene that had just happened.

Orla's scream reached Sardon's ears. He took off, searching for her. There she was—trapped in Ren's grip. Sardon dove down.

It was time to make up for his forgetfulness.

_Dren_

He was running through a dark maze. No matter how far he ran, nothing ever seemed to get closer. Everything stayed the same, even when he turned down a corridor. How long had he been running? It felt like forever. Was he forgetting something? Where was he supposed to be going?

White light flashed in his face and he skidded to a stop. The light burned his eyes after being in the dark for so long. He blinked a few times before the image came into focus. He was staring at the radio tower. Wait a minute, it looked different. The buildings around it were taller and sleeker, shiny with windows. He squinted, realizing that the image was drawing closer to the observatory at the top. A girl stood there, facing a giant monster moth. It flashed into a vision of the future—the girl was about to be crushed by a falling beam.

"Do you want to save her?"

The voice startled him and he whipped around. It was a face he knew.

"You're the old fortune teller from the boardwalk!"

"You might say that," the old woman replied. "Answer my question now."

He looked back where the girl and the beam were frozen.

"I'm a Kyaldian," he finally said. "It's my duty to protect everyone."

The woman let out something that might have been a cough, might have been a knowing laugh.

"Good answer," she said finally. "And seeing as she's the ally you were sent to find, you'd better get to her before she dies."

Dren drew in a breath. This was the girl? The fortune teller was suddenly at his side.

"What are you waiting for, boy?" she said.

Then she shoved him into the image, letting him fall down, down, down back into the world.

_Ichigo_

After the white light had nearly blinded Ichigo, Kish had vanished. All Ichigo knew now was that she had to destroy that moth before the whole city became a wasteland. Where was it?

She left the Blue Knight and the girl (who were STILL fighting!) and raced through the ruined observatory. She had just made it to the shattered window when the giant moth loomed before her, screeching.

"Strawberry Bell!" Ichigo yelled.

The moth's giant tail whipped around, smashing into the still intact walls of the observatory. Dust and debris fell around Ichigo, making her lose focus. Before she was able to take aim at the moth, she was aware of something falling towards her. As if in slow motion, she looked up and watched as a beam started to fall towards her. There would be no dodging. Ichigo braced herself...

"Watch out!"

Someone knocked into her and they rolled across the floor, out of the way of the beam. Ichigo saw it crash into the floor and shuddered. That might have been her. Someone was half on top of her after saving her from the beam. The moth screeched at them. Her rescuer—still blurred as Ichigo tried to blink the dust from her eyes—raised a hand. Wind gathered around his hand and smashed into the moth, blowing it away as easy as if it was a leaf.

Ichigo tried to push herself up.

"Oh, sorry!" said her rescuer, getting off of her.

Ichigo rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear her vision.

"You okay?"

"I think so—"

Ichigo opened her eyes to take a look at her savior.

It was Kish.

Starfireelf15's commentary: AND SO ENDS CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR! MUAHAHAHAHA! What did you think? What did everybody think? SOMEBODY DROP ME A LINE OR SOMETHING SO I KNOW HOW I'M DOING! All right, next chapter will be up as soon as I get it! Search for: The Tables Are Turned.


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